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Using foreign debit cards with magnetic strip in SG
Posted: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:49 am
by shag
Hello everyone,
I am moving to Singapore sometime in October and in my country debit cards are only issued with magnetic stripes and no chips on them. I read somewhere that banks in Singapore have phased out magnetic stripe debit cards for electronic chip based cards. Do all ATMs in Singapore now only support chip based card or my mastercard/ maestro debit card with magnetic stripe will still work there?
thanks to anyone who can answer this question.
Re: Using foreign debit cards with magnetic strip in SG
Posted: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 2:10 pm
by ecureilx
shag wrote:Hello everyone,
I am moving to Singapore sometime in October and in my country debit cards are only issued with magnetic stripes and no chips on them. I read somewhere that banks in Singapore have phased out magnetic stripe debit cards for electronic chip based cards. Do all ATMs in Singapore now only support chip based card or my mastercard/ maestro debit card with magnetic stripe will still work there?
thanks to anyone who can answer this question.
what makes you think that Singapore has stopped using magnetic strip cards ??
well, last I checked, only few Debit/credit cards were fully chip-based .. even then the magnetic strip was there, so to say ..
Posted: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 2:13 pm
by ksl
magnetic strip is still here and chip!
Magnetic Strip
Posted: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 2:33 pm
by sammone40
There are very few places that don't accept foreign debit cards. If you have a chip and a pin they'll accept that.
If only a signature they'll accept that too.
7E is an example of a place that doesn't accept...
Re: Magnetic Strip
Posted: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 4:32 pm
by ecureilx
sammone40 wrote:There are very few places that don't accept foreign debit cards. If you have a chip and a pin they'll accept that.
If only a signature they'll accept that too.
7E is an example of a place that doesn't accept...
pray, enlighten me .. what or where is 7 E ??
As for cards, so far, in Singapore NO ESTABLISHMENT EVER REFUSES FOREIGN CARDS .. heck, they don't even know if it is local or foreign .. as long as the online transaction passes, they will go with it ..
Posted: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 4:44 pm
by sundaymorningstaple
7-11? Eleven
Posted: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 4:51 pm
by ecureilx
sundaymorningstaple wrote:7-11? Eleven
ouch

7E = 7-11

that's a new one..
BTW, 7-11, am yet to remember if they accepted any DEBIT Card .. or credit card ..
unless my friend is confusing debit card with ATM Cards ..
Posted: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 5:13 pm
by sundaymorningstaple
But you CAN top up cash cards at 7-11.

Posted: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 5:18 pm
by JR8
'Shag'. Good user name that one. Don't wear it out!
Re: Using foreign debit cards with magnetic strip in SG
Posted: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 5:34 pm
by syamsulstar
shag wrote:Hello everyone,
I am moving to Singapore sometime in October and in my country debit cards are only issued with magnetic stripes and no chips on them. I read somewhere that banks in Singapore have phased out magnetic stripe debit cards for electronic chip based cards. Do all ATMs in Singapore now only support chip based card or my mastercard/ maestro debit card with magnetic stripe will still work there?
thanks to anyone who can answer this question.
You shouldnt have any problems using those cards in Singapore. I used it for a good 2-3 months at various places before I got an account with a local bank.
a bit off topic: you may find trouble using those cards at a few establishments in Malaysia. This happened to me at least 5-6 times.
Re: Using foreign debit cards with magnetic strip in SG
Posted: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 5:39 pm
by ecureilx
syamsulstar wrote:
a bit off topic: you may find trouble using those cards at a few establishments in Malaysia. This happened to me at least 5-6 times.
Not to offend you, but you need a brain scan, if you use ANY CARD in Malaysia .. even Malaysian are wary of using credit cards, within their own country .. lest their info be skimmed .. and quite often, when Malaysian come here, and swipe their card, at the second transaction, their card is locked, as, Malaysia being credit card skimming central for this region, the banks block the card so fast .. until the owner calls and asks for unlock, and then it happens again the next day .. no kidding ..
Re: Using foreign debit cards with magnetic strip in SG
Posted: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 5:42 pm
by nakatago
ecureilx wrote:syamsulstar wrote:
a bit off topic: you may find trouble using those cards at a few establishments in Malaysia. This happened to me at least 5-6 times.
Not to offend you, but you need a brain scan, if you use ANY CARD in Malaysia .. even Malaysian are wary of using credit cards .. lest their info be skimmed .. and quite often, when Malaysian come here, and swipe their card, at the second transaction, their card is locked, as, Malaysia being credit card skimming central for this region, the banks block the card so fast .. until the owner calls and asks for unlock, and then it happens again the next day .. no kidding ..
...and with that syamsulstar runs off to call his bank.
Back to topic, the new emv cards are, well, new. Putting in the infrastructure to support just that and/or wipeout magnetic stripes will take some time, even for a country as small as Singapore. To illustrate, some of my friends who have accounts on the same branch of bank that I do, haven't had their new emv ATM cards while I got mine two months ago.
Re: Using foreign debit cards with magnetic strip in SG
Posted: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 5:48 pm
by syamsulstar
ecureilx wrote:syamsulstar wrote:
a bit off topic: you may find trouble using those cards at a few establishments in Malaysia. This happened to me at least 5-6 times.
Not to offend you, but you need a brain scan, if you use ANY CARD in Malaysia .. even Malaysian are wary of using credit cards, within their own country .. lest their info be skimmed .. and quite often, when Malaysian come here, and swipe their card, at the second transaction, their card is locked, as, Malaysia being credit card skimming central for this region, the banks block the card so fast .. until the owner calls and asks for unlock, and then it happens again the next day .. no kidding ..
Thank you for the warning. I am actually from Malaysia. I agree that there s a lot of credit card fraud in Malaysia, and from time to time I try to limit the usage of it, but I have just gotten so used to not carrying more than 10 bucks in my wallet

and sometimes you must use credit cards at places like Avis.
Posted: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 5:50 pm
by JR8
EMV?
Posted: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 5:54 pm
by nakatago
EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard and VISA, a global standard for inter-operation of integrated circuit cards (IC cards or "chip cards") and IC card capable point of sale (POS) terminals and automated teller machines (ATMs), for authenticating credit and debit card transactions.
It is a joint effort between Europay, MasterCard and Visa to ensure security and global interoperability so that Visa and MasterCard cards can continue to be accepted everywhere. Europay International SA was absorbed into MasterCard in 2002. JCB (formerly Japan Credit Bureau) joined the organization in December 2004, and American Express joined in February 2009. IC card systems based on EMV are being phased in across the world, under names such as "IC Credit" and "Chip and PIN".
The EMV standards define the interaction at the physical, electrical, data and application levels between IC cards and IC card processing devices for financial transactions. There are standards based on ISO/IEC 7816 for contact cards, and standards based on ISO/IEC 14443 for contactless cards.
Also, it's what the guys here at work who have this as a project call the cards.