However with all the ease of use that debit cards provide, there are a certain precautions that one should take at all times and there are certain places where using your debit card might not be a good idea as you risk your account being compromised which means putting all your available funds at risk too. Below we will mention a few scenarios in which you should be careful not to use your debit card:

Out of Sight PoS:
You should beware of places where you give your card to the sales person to be swiped somewhere else such as at fuel stations or restaurants. The reason behind this is that you could become a victim of skimming hence always make sure that the cards are swiped infront of you or use a credit card to pay at such places if it’s inevitable.

Online:
It’s also a wise idea not to use your debit card for online transactions as you expose your personal account details tied to your own funds in every transaction. Also unlike credit cards there’s no credit limit that can be exhausted hence your total funds could be compromised. Also when you use credit cards it’s easier to report frauds as it’s the banks money that you’re lending so the bank is responsible to counter any frauds or losses and issue refunds. There’s also a due date for your bill payment till which any issues or disputes between the merchant and card holder can be resolved. However in debit cards all these safety measures are unavailable. Also if you run into any fraud using your debit card and block the account then it’ll be another hassle for you as you’ll be unable to access your own funds for a certain period of time and you’ll have to resort to withdrawal from cheques until you get your replacement debit card issued.

Refunds:
Using debit cards at places where you’re buying good from a merchant is also not a good idea. The underlying reason is that if by mistake you get a faulty or wrong product, or the product is not the same as advertised and you wish to get a refund, then it will not be as easy as with a credit card. It’s also pertinent to mention here that the refund duration varies from 1-15 days depending on the merchant, merchandise and the location of the transaction i.e if it’s done locally or internationally. During this tenure your own available funds will be affected for the time being. Hence using a credit card is a better option

Foreign Destinations:
It’s also advisable not to use your debit card at foreign tourist locations because some locations still use the Magnetic stripe instead of the newer Chip and Pin system which means that you’re more vulnerable as using a debit card at point of sales where the card is swiped instead of dipped can lead to your own funds being at risk. Credit cards are safer to use while traveling abroad as you’re borrowing money from the bank and you know you’ll be spending within a specific limit hence it doesn’t make sense to expose your private bank account details that are tied to your own funds.

If you follow the above tips you can make safe, secure and hassle free transactions using the right card for the right place. If you have any feedback let us know the comments section below.

Khurram Zahid

The post 4 Places Where You Should Not Use Your Debit Card! appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

So what is a prepaid debit card?
A prepaid card is a banking card that lets you pay for your purchases as you would do with any debit card. You can use it at POS (Point of sales) as well as at ATMs to get cash. Prepaid cards are available on the MasterCard as well as VISA payment networks. Due to its prepaid nature, it’s also known as a reloadable/rechargeable debit card. It’s a safer and convenient payment method as opposed to cash which carries risk of theft and loss. To get a prepaid card you don’t need to open a formal bank account, however all the transactions are recorded through the card provider i.e. a bank.  Unlike a regular debit card though, you can only spend as much money as you put in the card’s transaction account. In comparison to credit cards or regular debit cards, you pay before when you recharge your card and spend later, whereas in credit cards you spend before and pay later which is essentially borrowing money from the bank and you’re subject to various charges and interest in case you don’t pay off your bills on time. In debit cards you are paying at the moment of spending and money is deducted from the account associated with the debit card in real time by your bank/card provider.

Who’s the right audience for a prepaid debit card?
Prepaid cards benefit those the most who don’t have a bank account or don’t wish to have one. It could be a student planning to pay his tuition and examination fee online, or a corporate organization that’s planning to disburse bonuses, or as gift cards to be spent on shopping or dining. For those who have a bank account, prepaid debit cards can still be feasible and a great tool for money management as you can make expenditures without the worry of overspending from your account. Also since it’s your own money that you’re spending hence you’re not landing into the trouble of having to pay heavy interests. This is useful for people who have a fixed income, students and teenagers who get allowances or people visiting from abroad who temporarily wish to use a debit card.

Features of prepaid debit card:
Prepaid cards come with various features and benefits. For starters, due to the prepaid nature, there are multiple ways of recharging a card, usually by doing cash or cheque deposit at the bank or making an online transfer if you have an account in the same bank. You also get ATM withdrawal facility with a prepaid debit card. Another thing to note is that these cards are issued instantly and there’s no waiting times like there are usually with credit cards due to their checks regarding applicant’s credit history. While there are certain charges attached to using prepaid cards such as out of network ATM withdrawal or online usage, some charges are not levied or waived off altogether such as activation or transaction fee. These cards also don’t have a renewal fee as once expired you are issued a new card if you need one.

Limitations of prepaid cards:
With all the advantages that prepaid cards come with, there are several limitations that such solutions carry as well with them. The most obvious of them is that there is a certain recharge limit and your card cannot hold more cash than that whereas a debit card linked to your bank account will have access to all of the funds available in your bank account. Also there’s a certain spending limit per day and once you cross it your car remains unusable till the date on the calendar moves a notch ahead.  The next disadvantage is that these cards are not as secure as credit cards and thus cannot guarantee fraud protections. Even if your bank offers you purchase protection, it might be difficult to get refunds, correct errors and reverse wrong transactions.  Some more limitations are no access to online banking or funds transfer and no cheque book.

Who’s offering prepaid debit cards in Pakistan?
Currently, only United Bank Limited (UBL) is offering prepaid debit cards in Pakistan under the UBL Wiz brand. It offers various types of cards for people with specific needs such as UBL Wiz Internet card for those who like to spend online or UBL Wiz ACCA card for students who wish to pay their tuition and exam fee to ACCA in UK. There are also cards for teens, ladies and travelers which have different spending, reload and deposit limits. All you need to get a Wiz card is your CNIC and teens can get one if their guardian gets it on their behalf. A person can have one card of each type at a single time on his/her CNIC. Recently State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued regulations regarding the issuance and usage of prepaid cards which will hopefully urge more banks to start offering such solutions for the unbanked population of Pakistan.

We hope that this article serves in the benefit of those who are looking for a way to try out banking practices without actually going through the hassle of opening up a proper bank account. If you have any queries please let us know in the comments section below!

Khurram Zahid

The post All You Need To Know About Prepaid Debit Cards! appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Reward Points vs. Reward Cards:
Almost all credit card providers have their reward points system on which you accumulate reward points by simply making purchases via your credit card. These points can be later used to get discounts if redeemed at various places which have partnered with the bank. However be aware that reward cards usually carry a higher percentage of interest. Hence if you have opted for a reward card for commodities such as fuel or grocery, make sure you pay your complete dues on time rather than just the bare minimum otherwise you will end up losing more money in terms of paying interest rather than saving. Also only get a reward card if you really need one because the discounts and cash backs are reserved to a specific service only.

Select The Right Card:
This is very essential. There are some incentives that you just can’t get on regular cards. For e.g. if you are a frequent flyer, then you should get a travel card which gives you air miles on spending on your air tickets and hotel bookings. The accumulated air miles can be redeemed upon your next trip. Not just that, you also get free access to VIP lounges that you might be paying for otherwise. If you travel in your personal car a lot, then a fuel card is a must have and if you have a big family then a grocery card could help you save your money by purchasing through the relevant card.

Keep An Eye On Offers:
It surely annoys getting spam emails/messages and even phone calls at times from your credit card provider. While running after such offers can land you into deep waters(read: hefty debt), however don’t ignore all of them too. Credit card providers usually have some good offers in the holiday/festive season apart from the usual offers that you get with your credit card.

Make Timely Payments:
A credit card will only help you save all those rupees only if you keep paying off your due balance on time. To make sure that you aren’t charged interests or late payment fines,make sure that you always pay more than the minimum if not all of your amount within the grace period. This will also improve your credit rating and you would be able to get a higher tier card easily or apply for another card from a different provider. In case you don’t pay your credit card bills on time, things can get pretty ugly.

Don’t Withdraw Cash:
Emergencies can happen anytime where you might be in need of cash urgently. While you can withdraw cash from an ATM using your credit card, it’s not a good idea at all because the interest starts accumulating on the withdrawal right from that very moment because there is no grace period. Also the interest rates are sky-high and you could end up paying huge amounts for the sake of convenience. A better idea is to always keep some cash handy.

We hope that following these smart tips, you will also be using your card to save on your monthly expenses and regulate your finances to your benefit!

Khurram Zahid

The post 5 Tips To Save Money Using Your Credit Card! appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Facts and Features:
The overall user interface is fairly good and kept minimal and is quite user friendly for all ages. It’s pertinent to mention here that it’s the first app of it’s kind that’s available on all major mobile ecosystems. Warid in the past has launched an ATM locator app but it was only introduced for Android hence iOS, Blackberry and Windows Phone users had no such facility available. Also, 1 Link is the most authentic source for all data related to ATM booths and banking branches. This application will help users find their nearest ATM booths and bank branches from the 9500 ATMs of over 38 banks in Pakistan. Not just that, you can select up to 15 branches/ATMs to be favourites for easy access. You can also get a route from your current location to the selected ATM booth. It uses GPS coordinates to locate your position and you can even dial the concerned bank from within the application itself which is a good feature to have built-in. There are also filters like Bank, City and Branch code which makes things easier if you are looking for a particular bank or a specific branch. Additionally there’s a news feed as well that shows you the latest content related to banking!

Suggestions/Feedback:
The user experience is marred by little niggles such as the lack of distance in the route view as well as showing just one branch on the map at a single time. Also we found in our intensive usage that some ATMs are not visible whereas some showed wrong names instead of their actual ones. Also when the “Filter by City” option is used, it has no check in place if the fields are empty or not it still progresses to the next page and doesn’t show the desired results. Furthermore,we think a feature should be added that lets you choose your default bank because apart from cash withdrawal, you cannot avail facilities such as mobile recharge and utility bill payment from only your own bank’s ATM.

In this regard, we approached Mr. Faisal Ijaz, Head of Innovation at 1 Link who told us that his team is working round the clock to update the ATM data to make sure it’s accurate and new features will be added in the near future.

Our Verdict:
We have pointed out some caveats above along with some missing features but we believe that it’s a newly introduced app and some teething problems can always be remedied in subsequent updates and more features can be added to facilitate consumers with their banking needs in a more positive way. But in all fairness it’s a decent attempt at putting up a locator service together. We also appreciate the wide availability on major mobile ecosystems. The news feed can also be very helpful if regularly updated with changes in tax/intrest rates and other information related to banking which can turn this into a one-stop for all your banking information needs.

Get the App:
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pk.net.onelink.android
iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/pk/app/1link-atm-locator/id1053416078?mt=8
BlackBerry: https://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/59985958/?lang=en&countrycode=PK

Make sure to try the application and see if it pinpoints nearby ATMs in your locality. Let us know how your experience went! We’d really recommend this application as it’s really helpful if you want to know about your nearest ATM booth/Bank branch.

Khurram Zahid

The post 1 Link Launches Geolocator App For ATMs Nationwide! appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

The chip-and-PIN ATM card technology is not really new anymore as it has been in use in the UK since 2003 and recently the US has been adopting it. It has many advantages over the older magnetic stripe such as it being more secure and it’s not damaged by magnetic fields. Hackers are always out and about trying to crack security systems but it’s easier said than done hence it has been in use since a long time and only now and it has been compromised as well and now they can hack the system and steal your cash. It’s not as easy as on a magnetic stripe card but it’s still very much possible with the right technique and tools. So far theoretically it was impossible because the security protocols encrypted data much more securely as compared to a magnetic stripe card which holds all the data on the magnetic stripe on the back of the card.

US adopted this new system because it would improve the security for the customers, merchants and financial institutions. This is true, but the problem is that when the market pushes in one direction, in this case the adoption of the chip-and-PIN technology, crooks exploit to ways to compromise it.

A new “shimmer” was found, that can be inserted directly in the mouth of the ATM card receptacle, between the chip of the user’s card and the chip reader in the ATM, making possible to record the data from the card while the ATM is reading it. It is fast as it works on dip readers as well (the kind of card reader that requires you to briefly insert your card and then quickly remove it) The device is inserted from the outside of the ATM and no access is required to the ATM internals. Together with a hidden camera and/or a fake PIN keyboard, this can be a deadly combo to steal money.

Using X-Ray scan and other microscopic scans, the researchers figured out that the criminals actually inserted a second chip onto stolen chip-and-PIN cards, enabling them to duplicate the PIN verification on many registers’ point-of-sale (POS) terminal.

The fake chip, known as a FUNcard, enabled the thieves to carry out a Man In The Middle attack, which involves intercepting communications on the point-of-sale (POS) terminal. When a shopper inserts his or her card into a POS terminal, the terminal automatically tries to verify its authenticity. In this case, the FUNcard is waiting with its own, fake “Yes” signal when the authenticity check arrived.The attacker intercepts the PIN query and replies that it’s correct, whatever the code is.

Until 2011, the concept of spoofing the PIN on a chip-and-PIN card was largely theoretical. A group of Cambridge University researchers discovered similar flaws, but this crime ring appears to have been the first time the trick has been practically implemented. Malicious software used on ATMs in Russia and Europe has also broken through chip-and-PIN safeguards, allowing thieves to drain ATMs of cash in at least one case as reported by several news outlets.

We think this was coming, as we mentioned earlier than any man-made technology has the risk of being reverse-engineered, manipulated or hacked in some way sooner or later. We hope that the companies responsible for ATM security protocols devise better safeguards and close any loopholes to avoid huge monetary losses in the future.

It is also pertinent to mention here that this new technology is now also being introduced in the Pakistani market. Banks like UBL, HBL and Faysal Bank are now offering these new chip based cards. However chip-and-PIN technology might totally not be implemented in its true form because the banks have still not implemented the PIN codes and customers still have to manually sign their receipts. The Government  is considering a regulation to enforce banks to move from magnetic stripe to Chip-and-PIN within 3 years however this might get delayed as we don’t have any data for ATM fraud yet because no bank publishes it as well as the fact that Chip-and-PIN cards are more expensive than the current magnetic stripe ones. Even though this newer technology has been compromised we feel that it should be definitely implemented in Pakistan soon.

Khurram Zahid

The post Hackers Crack Chip-and-PIN for Real! appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.