Your debit, credit cards may be blocked by Dec 31: Know why

New Delhi, Dec 13: If you are using a debit or credit cards and are still having those magnetic stripe cards? Then you need to hurry up and get your cards replaced with EMV Chip Cards as soon as possible. For, if you fail to do so latest by December 31, 2018, then your card /cards may get blocked by your bank.

The Reserve Bank of India in order to protect the customers from fradulent transactions had issued guidelines to to change Magstripe Debit Cards to EMV Chip Debit Cards by the end of 2018. The conversion process is absolutely safe and comes with no charges.

The EMV chip-based debit and credit cards are in use since January 2016. The RBI had made it mandatory for banks to issue only EMV chip-based cards to new customers opening new accounts or applying for new debit or credit cards after 31 January 2016.

It can be recalled that according to directive issued by the RBI in 2015, all Indian banks have been mandated to replace the existing magnetic stripe credit cards and debit cards (both domestic and international) with the EMV Chip and PIN cards by December 31, 2018, irrespective of the card's validity. These EMV chip and PIN-based cards have enhanced security and risk mitigation features. Named after its creators- Europay, MasterCard and Visa, EMV technology is embedded with microprocessor chips which store as well as protect the cardholder's data in an encrypted form. With such enhanced features, these cards are comparatively less vulnerable to frauds.

You can apply to replace your old debit card with an EMV Chip Debit Card by visiting your home Branch. You can also request for issuance of the replacement EMV Chip Debit Card through internet banking.