Using your credit and debit cards is going to get a bit safer. On January 15, 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a notification asking all the banks to enhance the security features of debit and credit card transactions.
Effective March 16, 2020, banks need to have features that limit the usage of debit and credit cards in India and when customers travel abroad.
Consumers will be able to modify transaction limits within the overall card limit for all types of domestic and international transactions, be they at point of sale (PoS) terminals, ATMs, online, or contactless. This feature will be available for transactions carried out with the physical, virtual and contactless cards.
Consumers can also switch on and off (enable and disable) different transaction facilities on their cards in keeping with their usage. If you hold a credit card and use it only for online shopping on e-commerce websites such as Amazon and Flipkart, it will make sense to switch off other transaction modes such as PoS, ATMs and contactless transactions on that card. Similarly, on an international credit card, you can switch off all the other transaction modes and international usage can be switched on while travelling abroad. “The RBI’s directives are good steps towards curbing card frauds and unauthorised transactions. At the same time, it gives more control to the users in deciding several aspects of card usage,” says Pankaj Bansal, Vice President and Head – Key Account Management, Bankbazaar.com.
Banks need to provide these facilities to consumers on a 24 x 7 basis through multiple channels –mobile application, internet banking, automated teller machine (the bank’s own ATM) and interactive voice response (IVR). A consumer can also avail of this facility by visiting the bank’s branch.
From March 16, banks will issue new cards or re-issue existing ones on expiry. These would enable only transactions via physical swipes in point-of-sale terminals and ATMs. Everything else, from online transactions on e-commerce websites to contactless transactions, would have to be manually enabled by the consumer. The likes of HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, etc. already have some of these safety and control features for their consumers.
