Recently many of us might have received a message from the banks we have opened our accounts with, asking us to upgrade our credit or debit cards. There is a high chance that you might have received it but ignored it, thinking it’s a spam. But, it is not a spam at all. This is an important message circulated by the banks to all its customers. If you have ignored the message, then don’t and go and upgrade your old cards.
This order has been passed by the Reserve Bank of India and has asked all the banks to circulate this message. Basically, your old card will become useless after the 31st of December. Since it’s a notice from the RBI, banks have to follow it without any conditions. This change is done to save your account details from the predators and hackers. Your money has to be kept safe and it’s the responsibility of each and every bank to protect your hard earned money. Many online fraudulent cases have come into the light. The new card will have a chip which will keep all your transaction and money safe. If you look at your card, then you will see that it has a magnetic strip on it. This will be replaced with an EMV chip. EMV stands for Europay, Master card, and Visa. You should get it replaced before 31st December if you want to continue using the debit card facility.
You don’t have to pay anything in order to upgrade your card. Banks will bear the entire cost of it. It’s for your own safety. The upgraded EMV chip-based cards have been in use since January 2016. But, now RBI has made it a mandatory for all the customers.
This information has to be followed not only by the domestic banks but by the international banks as well. EMV chip-based card will be more secure than the magnetic stripe ones. The upgraded card will also be known as Personal Identification Number cards.
The information stored in an EMV card will be in a dynamic format, unlike the black strip one which stores static information. This upgrade will make it harder for the hacker to clone your card. When you will try to make a transaction through the upgraded card, the machine will prompt you to enter the Pin as well unlike the black magnetic stripe, where all you needed to do was to swipe it.
For additional safety, never share your card details with anyone especially with an unknown person, or someone who you don’t trust.
