6 IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON YOUR CREDIT/DEBIT CARD

Due to the implementation of the Cashless policy in Nigeria by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the risk in carrying cash around, most people now make use of their Debit and Credit Card for their day to day transactions. Its safer, more convenient and not bulky unlike carrying a huge sum of money for
payments.


Did you know that you account can be defrauded using the information on your card
even when you have the physical card with you? A friend of mine went shopping
some time ago and after that days transaction, he started getting debit
transaction alert for transactions he never initiated. when he informed me of it,
i noticed the debit was for card transactions, meanwhile he had his card with
him when he was getting the alert. So i immediately assisted him in blocking
the debit card and informed him to get a new card.
Whoever made those transactions never had his card with them, they only got the details on the card and used them for online transactions.

Below are 6 very important information on your credit/debit card that you should not
ignore:

1. PAN: Primary Account Number is the 16 digit in front of every card be it
credit or debit. This falls under the cardholder's data information which is
also required for card transactions online. Some banks require the last 4
digit of this number to complete some certain transactions on a particular
account. That means the fraudster does not even need to cram the whole 16
digit to complete transaction from your account, just the last 4 digit and you
get an alert. So keep your Credit/Debit Card safe.

2. Card Holder's Name: This also falls under cardholder's data, some certain
transactions online requires the cardholders name the way it appears on the
card. For instance, a fraudster managed to cram the whole 16 digit on the card
but do not know the customer's name, initiating transaction on such sites will
not go through as cardholders name is required. However, there are also some
sites that does not require the cardholders name.

3. Expiry Date: This is the last of the cardholder's data, it simply means the
last day you can use the card. It is a very important requirement when using
your card online, most people don't take note of this as they careless of the expiry date. But it is very important you know this, asides from transacting online with it, so you know when to start thinking of requesting for a renewal
if your bank does not produce a new one automatically.

4. MAGNETIC STRIPE OR DATA ON A CHIP: This is the first of the 3 sensitive data
on a the card, some cards are designed with the magnetic stripe on it, while the
other has the data inserted on a small chip on the side of the card. Both are
very sensitive and very important for online transactions. Some countries accept
cards with magnetic stripe while some accept just the chip and pin cards. To
learn more about both types of cards click Here.

5. CVC2/CVV: Card Verification Value is the 3 digit number on the back of the
card (Master, VISA and Discover Cards). CVV(VISA Card)data is captured through
electronic means via the magnetic stripe, whereas CVC2 is used to authenticate
online card transactions and is not captured on the magnetic stripe. Less i
forget, it's also one of the sensitive data on the card which is also required
for online card transactions.

6. Finally, PIN: Personal Identification Number is a set of numbers that
the customer generate themselves to complete their card transactions. PIN is
usually required for the Chip type of card while the magnetic stripe card rarely
use PIN. For the Chip cards, the cardholder must input their PIN to complete
transaction on all terminal.



Now you understand the sensitive information on your card, make sure you keep it safe.