Credit Cards - Aug 1 - online PIN necessary

Beginning August 1, online shopaholics using credit cards will have to provide an additional PIN number as an additional security before making any purchase.

This is in line with a directive of the Reserve Bank of India that makes it mandatory to have an additional authentication passcode verified by Visa or MSC (Mastercard Secure Code) beginning today. This is in addition to the other information already on the card like name, card number, expiry date and CVV (card verification value) number.

The PIN or password will be used as an additional layer of security at the checkout point before completion of the transaction.

This will be known to the card holder only. So, even if somebody notes your card number, he can’t misuse it for online shopping.

Ahead of today’s deadline, banks were loaded with thousands of requests for additional authentication. Some allowed customers to create passwords on their websites while others sent fresh user IDs and passwords to customers via post. Some banks like Citibank even allowed customers to use net banking password as their password for e-commerce transactions.

ICICI Bank has gone one step ahead. While generating 6-digit PIN as an additional security layer, it also asks its customer to type a message, known as personal assurance message (PAM) on the same web-page. This PAM is known only to customers. When you type your credit card number on the merchant’s website, it will take you to the bank’s website to complete the transaction, where you need to type in the PIN.

Prabhu Rangam, AGM (IT), State Bank of India, said, ‘‘SBI has already accommodated the required change. Our debit cards are PIN based, so they may not require another layer of security.’’ However, in case of credit card, the customers have to apply for PIN.

Industry observers feel that although the RBI directive may be a dampener for e-commerce industry initially, in a few months it would help the space to grow faster as it will deter online frauds.

via Zee