Hyderabad: The Reserve Bank of India has made it mandatory for debit cardholders to punch in their four-digit PIN after swiping the card at any retail outlet, from December 1.
The rule will be applied only to debit cards because in case of misuse of a debit card, the cardholder's account is debited instantly. In the new format, merchants will swipe debit cards at a PIN-enabled point-of-sale terminals and punch in the transaction amount. That will be followed by customers entering their PINs to complete the transaction.
As for credit cards, this requirement has been made mandatory for international transactions, including on the Internet. In such cases, users will have to replace their existing credit cards with the EMV Chip card and get a PIN.
There are close to 350 million debit cards and 19 million credit cards in India presently. Almost all Indians with a savings account have a debit card and its misuse has forced the RBI to introduce this new rule.
Pin must for credit card transactions on net
In the new format, merchants will swipe debit cards at a PIN-enabled point-of-sale terminals and punch in the transaction amount. That will be followed by customers entering their PINs to complete the transaction.
As for credit cards, this requirement has been made mandatory for international transactions, including on the Internet. In such cases, users will have to replace their existing credit cards with the EMV Chip card and get a PIN.
There are close to 350 million debit cards and 19 million credit cards in India presently. Almost all Indians with a savings account have a debit card and its misuse has forced the RBI to introduce this new rule.
