Bank Negara: No fee for renewal of ATM cards

Members of the public will be able to replace their ATM cards at their banks for free.

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara has refuted reports that ATM cardholders would be charged a renewal fee and denied the cards' use for cash withdrawals if not replaced with the new PIN-based cards.

The central bank said in a statement that ATM cards can be replaced for free.

"ATM cards in Malaysia double up as debit cards which allow cardholders to make purchases at point-of-sale (POS) terminals.

"Those who have not replaced the cards can continue to use it for cash withdrawals at the ATMs," it said.

With regard to the usage of ATM cards as a debit card for purchase transactions at POS terminals, banks are required to provide cardholders with adequate notice. This is alongside a reasonable time period for the replacement before disabling the existing cards for such transactions.

Bank Negara said banks had been progressively replacing their customers' signature-based payment cards with PIN-based cards and aim to complete this exercise by Jan 1, 2017.

It said effective July 1, 2017, all payment card transactions conducted using locally issued payment cards at POS terminals in Malaysia could only be completed with a PIN entry and signature verification would no longer be facilitated.

"This initiative to migrate to PIN-based payment cards for transactions at POS terminals is to improve security and protect cardholders' interest.

"The public should not delay their replacement of cards," it added. - Bernama