India is getting digital now so there is a huge increase in the use of credit or debit cards this year. However, due to the escalating use of these digital entities, the risk of hacking and online theft has also scaled up. Thus, in order to keep the misconducts in control, the banks have decided to take up some important steps. Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with a number of other government officials has declared on making the banking sector completely based on e-commerce rather than the cash-dealing mode.
Punjab National Bank (PNB) has recently taken up the initiative of making it compulsory for its customers to use the Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) chip-based cards or else their Maestro debit cards will be blocked by the end of the month. The reason behind doing this is for the security purpose. What’s more amazing is that the bank is planning to provide the chip-based cards for free to its customers without any replacement charges.
The replacement procedure can be done through any branches of the PNB. There is a time limit for it though it is the procedure that has to be completed before July 31, 2017. We don’t think any of the customers want to be missing the free Maestro debit card replacement chance. The EMV chip-based card will keep all the transaction-related details secure and safe.
The RBI had earlier in 2015 told most of the banks to switch to the chip-based cards, and thus keeping that in mind, PNB has decided to go ahead with the switch. In order to make the people aware, the bank has started sending SMSs to around 1 Lakh customers who are still glued to the old Maestro debit card. PNB has about 5.65 Crore of customers using its cards on a daily basis. For now, the bank has sent messages to all the frequent card users while the non-users who haven’t even made a single transaction through the cards have been kept out of question.
The switch from a magnetic strip-based card to an EMV chip-based card is of utmost importance so as to make the transactions even more secure. This switch is expected to be completed by December 31, 2018, without considering the card’s validity. Looking at PNB become stringent in this matter, there is no doubt that others will follow the same as well. The need for the card switch is important as the Indian Government is planning to go digital in the coming years.
