Has your ATM or Debit card stopped working? Scores of bank customers visiting ATMs these days get surprised when they fail to withdraw cash. There could be a number of reasons behind this: a) Your account may not have sufficient cash; b) The ATM is not working; c) The ATM has failed to read your card. 

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Even when there is sufficient balance and the ATM is not out of order, often the teller machine fails to read the card. The biggest reason for this could be you are still using the old magnetic stripe card. When the card is used for a long time, the sensitive magnetic strip gets worn out and fails to swipe properly. Is there any solution to this? 

Yes, the best option is to replace your magnetic stripe card. And this is the best time to so. Your magnetic stripe card will become useless if you fail to replace it by December 31!

As per an RBI order, all banks have to replace the magnetic stripe cards with the EMV chip-based cards. EMV stands for Europay, Mastercard, Visa. The banks are replacing old cards free of cost. According to banks, 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 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 SBI had tweeted in August. 

Banks are asking customers to upgrade their debit and credit cards if they have not done that already. A large number of debit and credit card users have already got the free upgraded card from their banks, but scores are yet left behind.

The EMV chip-based cards are being used since January 2016. If you got your debit card before January 2016, you may still be having magnetic stripe cards. It is time to get them replaced for free.   

How to replace debit card

You can get free EMV chip-based Debit card by visiting your home branch. You can also make a request for the new card through internet banking. 

More trouble!

Master Card, American Express, Visa Card users in India may face more troubles if these companies fail to adhere to the RBI deadline. The Reserve Bank of India has said it will not relax the October 15 deadline for global financial technology (fintech) companies to comply with its data localisation norms in the public interest, according to a PTI report. 

In April, RBI had given six months time to global payment companies to store transaction data of Indian customers within India. The RBI's data localisation norms will kick in from today. It may also affect payments through Facebook, PayPal, Amazon, Microsoft and other such companies.