Bank Credit/Debit Cards to get blocked if you don't follow THESE steps before December 31

The customers of the State Bank of India (SBI), Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICCI Bank, Bank of Baroda and other private and public banks need to replace or upgrade the debit and credit cards before December 31, as per a notice by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). As per the latest notice by RBI, banks are being asked to notify their customers about the upgradation of their credit and debit cards before December 31 to protect their account from online hackers and conmen.

According to the notice, every bank has been asked to upgrade the old debit and credit cards for free and replace it with EMV (Europay MasterCard Visa) chip-based and PIN-enabled credit and debit cards to protect the customers from online forgery and mischiefs.

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"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," notified a SBI website notice.

The EMV chip-based card shields the customers from card fraud.

What if someone does not replace the card by December 31?

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Meanwhile, if a customer fails to replace the credit or debit card before the given deadline of December 31, it will be blocked.

How to know whether a card is EMV Chip-enabled or not?

To know whether a debit/credit card is EMV chip-based or not, check whether there is any golden chip placed on the front of the card, and if there is any golden chip then the card is an EMV card.

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How to apply for the replacement?

To apply for replacing an old debit/credit card with the latest EMV Chip-based card then a customer needs to visit the home branch. A customer can also apply for the replacement of the old debit/credit card to EMV Chip Debit Card via internet banking.