SBI blocks Debit cards

Mumbai Aug 22: Are you using Debit Card? soon your card may be blocked by the bank. State Bank of India has yesterday started blocking insecure and old ATM/Debit cards.

The bank has said that we have taken this action to stop online forgery, scams and malicious attacks targeting online banking. SBI has said that it would replace all the existing magnetic stripe (called magstripe) debit cards with RBI-approved EVM Chip debit cards.

Currently, many bank customers use magnetic cards.SBI has also said that the old and insecure card users should change their card to the EVM chip card at the earliest to avoid the blocking.

Experts say that EVM based chip cards are safer than the magstripe cards as it is difficult to copy the encrypted data.sources say that similar exercise is being undertaken by other Indian banks after RBI had earlier issued guidelines to make sure that all debit cards are safe and data is not vulnerable.

The Bank has also said that users can apply for new cards by visiting online SBI or visiting their home branch.The customers can identify whether your card a magstripe or an EVM by looking for a chip placed on the front side the card. IF the chip is not found it is a magstripe debit card.

Let's hope that customers replace their cards before banks block them to avoid trouble.