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Get ready for these changes coming to credit and debit cards in 2024
More modern systems aim to make card payments in Spain and the rest of Europe far more secure
Safety measures adopted during the coronavirus pandemic are shifting Europe more and more towards a cashless society, where card payments dominate over paying with notes and coins. Many consider this shopping practice to be more sanitary and convenient and several companies have opted for the card-only option; however, the Organisation of Consumers and Users in Spain recently insisted that Spanish airlines would have to accept both cash and cards, so as not to discriminate.
But the reality is that in Spain and elsewhere, the old adage of ‘cash is king’ has slipped out of fashion and across Europe, major changes are coming next year to ensure that credit and debit cards are more secure than ever.
The updates will be implemented in Spain at the beginning of 2024 and although the plan is European, the United States and Canada are arranging similar modifications a little later down the line.
Here are the two biggest changes that will affect the way credit and debit cards operate in Spain:
Magnetic strips
The magnetic strip, that is, the thin black line that appears across the back of both credit and debit cards, will be removed at the end of this year. This stripe contains all the vital information used to identify the card and its holder, but they can often become damaged and unreadable through wear and tear. Deep scratches or chips to the magnetic strip render cards useless.
In 2024, no credit or debit cards issued in Spain will have these stripes. In the US and Canada, the magnetic strip will be removed by the year 2027 but the deadline for European nations is the end of 2023.
Pin numbers
Hand in hand with the decision to abandon magnetic strips is pin numbers, which will no longer be required to make a purchase by card. In their place will be a biometric system which relies on the combination of an electronic chip and the account owner’s fingerprint to make transactions more secure.
Once it’s enforced, the account holder alone will be able to use the card by presenting their fingertip at the till, without the need for a four-digit PIN number.
All of the major banks in Spain welcome these changes, ensuring that the new systems will reduce the incidence of fraud, since in many cases at the moment, payment by card doesn’t require a PIN number.
Image: Pixabay
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