Some debit or credit cards may not function from January 1 next year. As per an old directive issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), “the magnetic stripe cards” will have to be replaced with the EMV chip, PIN-based ones by December 31, 2018.
Users need not panic as they still have some time left to replace the old-technology cards from their existing lenders if they haven’t done it so far. The new EMV card comes with more security features and is considered to be less vulnerable to frauds.
The central bank had issued the directive on August 27, 2015, and given the banks more than three years to complete the transition.