KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has refuted recent reports which claimed that ATM cardholders would be charged a renewal fee and would be unable to use the cards for cash withdrawals if they are not replaced with the new PIN-based cards.

In a statement today, the central bank said the public can replace their ATM cards for free.

"ATM cards in Malaysia double up as a debit card which allows cardholders to make purchases at point-of-sale (POS) terminals.

"Those who have not replaced the cards can continue to use it for cash withdrawals at the ATMs," it said.

With regards to the usage of ATM cards as a debit card for purchase transactions at POS terminals, banks are required to provide cardholders with adequate notice.

This is alongside a reasonable time period for the replacement before disabling the existing cards for such transactions.

BNM said banks had been progressively replacing their customers' signature-based payment cards with PIN-based cards and aim to complete this exercise by January 1, 2017.

It said that effective July 1, 2017, all payment card transactions conducted using locally-issued payment cards at POS terminals in Malaysia could only be completed with a PIN entry and signature verification would no longer be facilitated.

"This initiative to migrate to PIN-based payment cards for transactions at POS terminals is to improve security and protect cardholders' interest.

"The public should not delay their replacement of cards," it added.

-- Bernama