State Bank of India has notified its card holders on replacing the old magnetic strip-based credit and debit cards with EMV Chip-based cards. This is being done as per the directions of the Reserve Bank of India and the last day for doing this is December 31.
Effective January 1, 2020, if you are holding a card with the magnetic strip, it will not be accepted at the ATMs or at merchant establishments.
Now, there is a lot of confusion among the customers and many of them are posting queries online. SBI has been giving them the clarifications.
Firstly, if those holding SBI cards are already in possession of cards with the chip implanted in them, they need not worry. Those will be still valid beyond January 1 as well. You just need to check the date of the card’s expiry, the moth and year printed on the card itself.
SBI has further clarified that if you were holding the old magnetic strip card and used it to draw cash or to transact any payment, the bank would have automatically sent you the EMV Chip-based card to your address registered with the bank.
Apply now to change your Magnetic Stripe Debit Cards to the more secure EMV Chip and PIN based SBI Debit card at your home branch by 31st December, 2019. Safeguard yourself with guaranteed authenticity, greater security for online payments and added security against fraud. pic.twitter.com/t9K3TiGTad
— State Bank of India (@TheOfficialSBI) November 30, 2019
Here, the thing to be noted by the card owners is that the bank is sending the replacement cards by India Post. If you have changed residence and not informed the bank about your new address, the card will be returned to the bank with the remark, addressee not found.
In all such cases, the card will be sent to the respective branches where the card holder has his or her account. The customer has to reach the SBI branch and collect the new card. This is done for security reasons. This process may take up to 15 days. Therefore, it is in your interest that you update your correct address with your SBI branch, submitting the mandatory address proof.
The bank has also clarified that this replacement of the card is done free of cost.
"Upgradation of Magstripe Debit Cards to EMV Chip Cards for enhanced security and towards compliance of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines. Esteemed customers may please note that Magstripe Debit Cards blocked by them will remain blocked permanently. They are requested to apply for replacement EMV Chip Cards, free of cost, through online SBI, or through their home branch," SBI had said in a statement earlier.