Are you ready for PIN-only purchases?
Do you know the personal identification number (PIN) on your credit card? If not, you’ll need to memorise it before August 1, when credit cards say goodbye to signatures.
The final countdown has begun on the use of signatures when making a purchase with your credit card. Signing your name will be a thing of the past come August 1 when financial merchants around Australia will require a PIN number.
It’s a move major banks say is faster, more convenient and more secure than a signature. Plus, when you travel overseas, some retailers already require a PIN number as authorisation for purchases.
The Industry Security Initiative – a collective of Australia’s major financial institutions and card companies – says it’s an industry-wide move focused on expanding PIN numbers as payment authorisation at the point of sale and to phase out the signature on both credit and debit cards.
The phasing out period will have a short transition timeframe from the beginning of August. After this, you’ll need to enter a PIN when making a purchase.
A safer way to pay
The initiative hopes to make Australia’s payment system safer. According to the Industry Security Initiative and its PINwise resource, there is only a one in 10,000 chance of someone guessing your PIN number, making this method a safer way to purchase items.
When using a PIN rather than signing, the transaction is encrypted and sent in real-time to your bank to be authorised. Also, using your PIN can help protect against fraud due to lost or stolen cards, because someone looking to use your card would need both the card and your PIN to make a purchase.
The country’s 800,000 merchant payment terminals will undergo a software update to no longer accept a person’s signature as a main form of card authorisation. There will be no change to contactless or online transactions, and only in some circumstances will a signature still be a valid form of verification. For example, when using a card issued by an overseas bank.
What’s my PIN?
If you’re unsure of what your PIN is, check with your bank. They’ll be able to provide you with a PIN for your debit or credit card. If you’ve had your credit card for a long time and have forgotten what the PIN number attached to it is, just give your bank a call or go into a branch and they’ll be able to reissue you with another number. The bank can issue your PIN over the internet, by phone or via mail.
You’ll need to remember the PIN for each of your debit and credit cards, so it’s a good idea to start trying to memorise your numbers now. However, if you’re having trouble remembering your PIN, you can change it to a four or six digit number that you’ll find easier to remember. Give your bank a call to ask about the process of changing your PIN. Head to www.pinwise.com.au for more information.