Philippine Savings Bank (PSBank), the thrift bank arm of the Metrobank Group, has declared a deadline for deactivating all its non-EMV cards in line with its thrust to provide clients with more secured products and services.

In a statement, PSBank said “All non-EMV PSBank cards can no longer be used beginning September 1, 2017.” With this, it is encouraging all its clients to replace their non-EMV cards now at any PSBank branch. If it is your first time to replace your card, it is FREE of charge, PSBank said.

The Bank started to issue EMV chip-enabled cards as early as January 3, 2017. All its more than 600 ATMs are already EMV-ready.

PSBank debit and prepaid card account holders can simply visit any branch to get their card. They simply need to bring their old card and one government-issued valid ID. On the other hand, for PSBank Flexi accountholders, their card will be delivered via courier to their office address while their PIN will be delivered separately via another courier to their home address. Flexi card holders can activate their card by calling PSBank’s 24/7 Customer Experience Hotline at (02)845-8888 or by visiting the nearest PSBank branch.

PSBank’s move to shift to EMV chip-enabled cards is in line with the issuance of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Circular No. 859 or the Europay, Mastercard and Visa Implementation Guidelines.

The PSBank EMV chip-enabled cards have enhanced features for verifying transactions made on the card, therefore minimizing cases of card-present fraud incidents and identity theft and giving cardholders the peace of mind whenever they do card transactions.