The statement issued by the SBP stated that customers who have still not received their Europay Mastercard Visa (EMV-Chip and PIN) cards can continue using their existing magnetic stripe cards till the time they have received and activated their new cards.
However, based on activation and delivery trends, the card issuers may block existing magnetic stripe cards to ensure complete migration to EMV (Chip and PIN) at a future date.
The State Bank of Pakistan categorically rejected baseless rumours making the rounds in a section of press that the existing ATM cards with magnetic stripe have stopped working since December 31, 2019. The bank stated it has not issued any such instruction to card issuers (Banks/MFBs).
The SBP has also allowed numerous Banks/MFBs to utilize Alternate Delivery Channels (ADCs) other than call centers like Mobile Banking, Internet Banking and ATMs etc. for payment card activation purposes.
