KATHMANDU, MAR 31 - 2013
Following illegal cash withdrawals from Nepal Investment Bank Limited (NIBL) using fake debit cards, nine commercial banks, including NIBL, have lowered the debit card transaction limits.
The banks have brought down the daily ATM withdrawal limit to Rs 50,000 from the previous Rs 120,000. Customers of these banks can withdraw a maximum of Rs 10,000 per transaction, and can make up to five transactions a day.
The banks have also lowered the transaction limit from point-of-sale (POS) machines and ATM s in India. Customers of the banks can now pay a maximum of Rs 50,000 for purchasing goods by swiping their cards.
The banks that have imposed the ATM withdrawal limit are Siddhartha Bank, Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB), Global IME Bank, Sunrise Bank, Machhapuchhre Bank, Laxmi Bank, Kumari Bank and Citizens Bank International, besides NIBL.
As NIBL is a Visa member and other eight banks are the associate Visa members through NIBL, they took the joint step to mitigate risks. “The move was taken to reduce risks to all the banks that are associated members of Visa through NIBL,” said RBB CEO Krishna Prasad Sharma, adding the limit will be imposed until current information systems of the banks are reviewed and card pin numbers are changed.
NIBL Deputy General Manager Rajan Amatya said the move was taken after holding consultations with other banks. “Any unilateral decision of NIBL would affect other banks too,” he said.
With the new changes, people having accounts with the nine banks can withdraw a maximum of IRs 5,000 (Rs 8,000) per day and up to IRs 50,000 (Rs 80,000) per month from ATM counters in India. Earlier, the daily withdrawal limit from Indian ATM s was IRs 10,000 and monthly limit was IRs 100,000. Also, the bank customers can pay a maximum of IRs 31,250 (Rs 50,000) for purchasing goods in India by swiping cards.
After lowering the debit card transaction limits, the banks are minutely monitoring cash withdrawal trends from ATM s in Nepal and India.
Bankers say cardholders have to change their pin numbers time to time to be secure. They said 85 percent of cardholders use the same pin number provided initially by the banks. “We have also asked customers to change their pin numbers to reduce the risk of unauthorised withdrawal,” RBB CEO Sharma said.
After arresting three Indian nationals for illegally withdrawing money from NIBL, the police are currently investigating the matter. The Patan Appellate Court on Wednesday granted the police 10 more days (starting Sunday) for the investigation.
Indian nationals Suresh Singh Bista, Mohan Singh Bista and Chandra Singh Bista of Indranagar, Naintal Gram District, India, were arrested in Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur on Sunday and brought to Kathmandu on Monday.
According to NIBL, Rs 120,000 was withdrawn in an unauthorised way from seven-eight ATM counters in New Delhi. The bank has termed the incident a data compromise, which means the racketeers had access to the bank’s clients’ data. Police had seized 28 payment cards of ‘Diner Club International’ from the arrests and a few debit cards of Nepali commercial banks.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
Following illegal cash withdrawals from Nepal Investment Bank Limited (NIBL) using fake debit cards, nine commercial banks, including NIBL, have lowered the debit card transaction limits.
The banks have brought down the daily ATM withdrawal limit to Rs 50,000 from the previous Rs 120,000. Customers of these banks can withdraw a maximum of Rs 10,000 per transaction, and can make up to five transactions a day.
The banks have also lowered the transaction limit from point-of-sale (POS) machines and ATM s in India. Customers of the banks can now pay a maximum of Rs 50,000 for purchasing goods by swiping their cards.
The banks that have imposed the ATM withdrawal limit are Siddhartha Bank, Rastriya Banijya Bank (RBB), Global IME Bank, Sunrise Bank, Machhapuchhre Bank, Laxmi Bank, Kumari Bank and Citizens Bank International, besides NIBL.
As NIBL is a Visa member and other eight banks are the associate Visa members through NIBL, they took the joint step to mitigate risks. “The move was taken to reduce risks to all the banks that are associated members of Visa through NIBL,” said RBB CEO Krishna Prasad Sharma, adding the limit will be imposed until current information systems of the banks are reviewed and card pin numbers are changed.
NIBL Deputy General Manager Rajan Amatya said the move was taken after holding consultations with other banks. “Any unilateral decision of NIBL would affect other banks too,” he said.
With the new changes, people having accounts with the nine banks can withdraw a maximum of IRs 5,000 (Rs 8,000) per day and up to IRs 50,000 (Rs 80,000) per month from ATM counters in India. Earlier, the daily withdrawal limit from Indian ATM s was IRs 10,000 and monthly limit was IRs 100,000. Also, the bank customers can pay a maximum of IRs 31,250 (Rs 50,000) for purchasing goods in India by swiping cards.
After lowering the debit card transaction limits, the banks are minutely monitoring cash withdrawal trends from ATM s in Nepal and India.
Bankers say cardholders have to change their pin numbers time to time to be secure. They said 85 percent of cardholders use the same pin number provided initially by the banks. “We have also asked customers to change their pin numbers to reduce the risk of unauthorised withdrawal,” RBB CEO Sharma said.
After arresting three Indian nationals for illegally withdrawing money from NIBL, the police are currently investigating the matter. The Patan Appellate Court on Wednesday granted the police 10 more days (starting Sunday) for the investigation.
Indian nationals Suresh Singh Bista, Mohan Singh Bista and Chandra Singh Bista of Indranagar, Naintal Gram District, India, were arrested in Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur on Sunday and brought to Kathmandu on Monday.
According to NIBL, Rs 120,000 was withdrawn in an unauthorised way from seven-eight ATM counters in New Delhi. The bank has termed the incident a data compromise, which means the racketeers had access to the bank’s clients’ data. Police had seized 28 payment cards of ‘Diner Club International’ from the arrests and a few debit cards of Nepali commercial banks.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
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