25 million ATM cards to be replaced with chip cards this year
25 million ATM cards to be replaced with chip cards this year
More than 25 million magnetic ATM cards out of over 85 million cards in use must be converted to chip cards by end-2019 to prevent data loss and fraud, as required in a circular just released by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reported.
The regulations issued in Circular 41/2018 on supplements and amendments to Circular 19/2016 on bank card operations now include standards for domestic chip cards, such as standards for technical requirements involving domestic contact and contactless chip cards in Vietnam. Further, a detailed roadmap for the conversion from ATM magnetic cards to chip cards has been ordered.
By December 31, at least 30% of ATM cards issued by institutions with a bank identification number (BIN) granted by SBV will be subject to the switch.
In addition, at least 60% of the total cards with a BIN, or 51 million ATM cards, will have to be completely replaced with chip cards at the end of 2020. All remaining operational cards issued by commercial banks in the market must be converted by end-2021.
Besides this, at the end of December, at least 35% of ATMs and 50% of point-of-sale (POS) terminals across the country must be in compliance with the new standards, according to the circular issued by the central bank last week. Further, the entire system of ATM and POS terminals must comply with regulations on the standards for domestic chip cards by end-2020 to ensure the ATM system operates smoothly and stably.
During the conversion, card-issuing and payment institutions will be monitored to ensure stable operations of ATM cards to safeguard the rights and interests of cardholders.
The new circular will take effect on February 18.
National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) recently announced its collaboration with six local commercial banks to pilot a standard set of domestic chip cards and will issue ATM chip cards for the first time in the first quarter of 2019.
According to NAPAS, the standard set was intended to provide a common standard for payment cards and help cardholders make payments smoothly at all local commercial bank outlets.
Statistics from SBV showed that as of September 2018, the country was home to over 18,170 ATMs and 294,500 POS machines, serving over 85 million ATM cards.
Commercial banks are in the process of executing the roadmap to replace ATM magnetic cards with chip-based ones that have stronger security features. However, some commercial banks said that the switch to chip cards has posed multiple difficulties. They will have to upgrade their technology and replace ATM machines and POS terminals with newer ones that are compatible with chip cards.
