Anytime after 16 March if you intend to get a credit or debit card, you'll have to keep a plethora of things on your mind.
In its 15 January notification, Reserve Bank of India announced a slew of measures to improve convenience and security of the credit and debit cards. And these measures will start kicking in on 16 March.
For international transactions, online transactions, card-not-present transactions and contactless transactions, customers will have to separately set up services on their new card. Note that a contactless transaction occurs when one buys products or services via debit or credit card using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology-enabled on the cards. However, users will have 24x7 access to switch ON/OFF or change all transaction limits via all available channels — mobile application / internet banking / ATMs / Interactive Voice Response (IVR).
Issuers are to provide to all cardholders the facility to switch on/ off and set/ modify transaction limits (within the overall card limit, if any, set by the issuer) for all types of transactions – domestic and international, at PoS/ ATMs / online transactions / contactless transactions, etc.,
The provisions, however, are not mandatory for prepaid gift cards and those used at mass transit systems.
RBI asked banks to allow only domestic card transactions at ATMs and PoS terminals in India at the time of issuance/reissuance of card.
By 16 March, the existing cards' users will also have to bear a few things on their mind.
Existing cards which have never been used for online/ international/ contactless transactions shall be mandatorily disabled and the onus is on the user to reverse that.
These instructions assume significance amid rising instances of cyber frauds.
