SBI, HDFC, Axis, PNB, BoB,ICICI, other bank customers: Change your Credit, ATM cards; Here's why

If you are a customer of State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda or any other private or public commercial bank, here's an important information for you. In accordance with an RBI direction, banks are asking customers to upgrade their debit and credit cards. You may have so far ignored such messages on your phone, thinking of them to be a spam, it is time to look at them seriously for once. 

There is no need to worry for those who already have, or upgraded, their debit/credit cards. 

The banks are asking customers to upgrade their debit and credit cards if they have not done that already. The older debit and credit cards issued by banks will become invalid after December 31. As per the RBI direction, you need to upgrade the debit and credit cards to protect yourself from online fraudsters. 

Customers are required to replace their magnetic stripe-only cards with EMV chip-based ones by 31 December 2018. 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.

You can replace the old card with new ones for free. The EMV chip-based cards are being used since January 2016. If you got your credit/debit card before January 2016, you may still be having magnetic stripe cards. It is time to get them replaced for free.   

For new customers, banks are automatically issuing EMV chip-based cards as per the RBI direction, which is applicable to international debit and credit cards. 

The RBI has asked banks to issue only chip-based and PIN-enabled debit and credit cards with an aim to protect customers from frauds. 

EMV (Europay MasterCard Visa) chip card protects you against counterfeit (skimming) card fraud. According to the SBI website, "EMV Chip technology is the latest global standard for Debit Card payments. This technology features Debit Cards with an embedded microprocessor chip that store and protects cardholder data. This is a much secure technology as compared to Magstripe variants of Card."

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In case you fail to replace your Debit/Credit card before the deadline, it will be blocked. To identify whether your card is EMV chip-based or not, just check if there is a golden chip embedded on the card on the front side. If yes, you have an EMV card.  

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.