Referring to the last-minute rush by Malaysians in the past week to change the cards, ABM executive director Chuah Mei Lin said banks should not make their customers pay for something that had no cost involved.
“Card issuers should not ask customers to pay ‘late’ charges, as no fee was previously imposed,” Chuah told the daily, adding however, that customers too, should not wait too long to get the new cards that incorporated a more secure PIN and PAY system.
The local banking industry started the process of adopting new ATM/debit cards and credit cards over the past few months, and have been issuing notices and press releases on the need for customers to change their cards which will not be able to be used from next year.
“Older ATM/debit cards will not work at point-of-sale (POS) terminals as the market gradually adapts to the newer PIN and PAY system,” Chuah was quoted as saying by theSun.
She added that there would be a grace period of the first six months of next year for customers to adjust to the new payment process and for retailers to incorporate the changes to their retail systems, including installing new POS terminals.
The PIN and PAY type payment process enhances security for customers, and also incorporates a “Wave” option, which allows payment by a mere wave of the card on the new POS terminal.
For both debit card and credit card users, Chuah told theSun that customers may still be able to complete their transactions via the old signature method should they forget their PIN during the grace period.
However, only PIN transactions will be allowed from July 1, she added.
Major banks with branches operating in shopping malls over the weekend, had all recorded long queues of customers waiting to change their ATM and credit cards.