News

Korea sets moratorium for mag stripe transactions at ATMs

Only chip cards will be accepted at ATMs; POS terminals may still conduct mag stripe transactions, however.

March 11, 2015

Korea is calling a halt to magnetic stripe card-based transactions at automatic teller machines across the country in the hopes of ending counterfeit card fraud at the machines, according to a news report.

A ban on cash advance and loan services initiated with the old technology took effect last week, the Korean Herald said. Banks may still maintain a single lobby ATM with mag-stripe capability through the end of May, but thereafter, all ATM transactions will require a smart chip-enabled card. According to the report, the magnetic stripe will not be accepted even as a fallback in the event of chip failure.

The publication said the ban should have minimal effect on accountholders as most have already been issued chip cards.

The mag stripe ban does not apply to point-of-sale devices, the report said.