SBI or State Bank of India provides free-of-cost upgrade of debit card to its customers. The upgrade of existing debit card to an EMV chip-and-PIN debit card offers enhanced security, the country's largest bank SBI said on microblogging site Twitter. The move is in line with a December 31 deadline by the Reserve Bank of India for commercial banks to migrate from magnetic stripe-based cards to EMV chip-and-pin cards. The customer can apply for an SBI EMV chip debit card either online or by way of visiting a bank branch, according to SBI.
Here are five things to know about the SBI EMV chip-and-pin debit card:
1. SBI customers can obtain an EMV chip-and-pin debit card by applying in either of the two modes: online and offline. In the online mode, the customer is required to apply through SBI's internet banking portal - onlinesbi.com. The other option is to apply by visiting the SBI home branch. Home branch is the branch where the bank account is located.
2. The existing mag-stripe, or magnetic stripe, debit card will be replaced with an EMV chip-and-pin card free of cost, according to SBI.
Do not take a chance; get enhanced security for your #debit card by applying for the SBI EMV Chip Debit Card without any fee at your branch or through OnlineSBI. Visit: https://t.co/hgDrKXDjeX#StateBankOfIndia #SBI #DebitCards #EMVChipDebitCard #EMV #RBI #Guidelines #MakeAChange pic.twitter.com/xlZfhgmi2Q
3. "As a safety measure, Bank will not unblock any Magstipe Debit Card which is blocked once," SBI mentioned.
4. The debit card can be identified by locating a chip on the face (center-left position) of the debit card, according to SBI. "EMV Chip technology is the latest global standard for debit card payments. This technology features debit cards with embedded microprocessor chip that store and protect cardholder data. This is a much secure technology as compared to Magstripe variants of card," SBI added.
5. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has instructed commercial banks to switch from existing magnetic stripe cards to EMV chip-and-pin cards by December 31, 2018. This is applicable to existing domestic as well as international debit and credit cards. The central bank has instructed the issuing banks to replace the magnetic stripe cards with the EMV cards irrespective of the validity period of the card.
How to apply for new SBI card online
SBI has shared the following steps for its customers with magnetic strip-based cards to apply for a replacement online:
Login to www.onlinesbi.com using the internet banking user ID and password.
Click on the 'ATM Card Services' button under the 'eServices' tab and follow the instructions.
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