Switch To Chip-Based Debit Cards By Dec. 31, SBI Tells Customers
SBI asked users to get their ATM-cum-debit cards with magnetic stripe replaced with Europay MasterCard Visa chip before Dec. 31.
State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, has asked its customers to get their ATM-cum-debit cards with magnetic stripe replaced with the one with ‘Europay MasterCard Visa’ chip before Dec. 31.
The Reserve Bank on India had asked banks to issue only chip-based and personal identification number-enabled debit and credit cards to protect customers from frauds.
EMV chip card protects against counterfeit (skimming) card fraud. EMV chip card and PIN protects against both counterfeit (skimming) and lost and stolen card fraud.
“Dear Customers, it’s time to make a shift. As per the RBI guidelines, you are required to change your magnetic stripe debit cards to EMV chip debit cards by the end of 2018. The conversion process is absolutely safe and comes with no charges,” the SBI has said in a tweet. EMV chip debit card issued as a replacement will be free of cost, SBI said.
At June-end, SBI had 28.9 crore ATM-cum-debit cards, of which large number of them are chip-based. Several other banks, too, are replacing the magnetic stripe cards with EMV-equipped cards.
It is easy to identify if a card has EMV or not. EMV cards have golden chip embedded on the card on the front side.