New Delhi, Mar 5 (KNN)Inan attempt to check frauds, the Reserve bank of India (RBI) has putin placemeasures to secure card payments by setting a monetarylimit of USD 500 per debit and credit card.
The RBI has also asked banks to refrain from issuing international cards unless requested by customers. 
Effective June 30,2013, there will be a limit of USD 500 on all global cards issued by the banks.  “International cards issued by banks should have threshold limit for international usage. The threshold should be determined by the banks based on the risk profile of the customer and accepted by the customer,” theRBI has said in a notification. 
“Till such time this process is completed an omnibus threshold limit not exceeding USD 500 as determined by each bank may be put in place for all debit cards and all credit cards that have not been used for international transactions in the past,” it added.
The notification has been issued following cyber-attacks becoming increasingly unpredictable and electronic payment systems becoming vulnerable to new types of misuse;making it imperative for banks to introduce certain minimum checks and balances to minimise the impact of such attacks. 
The RBI has urged banks to frame rules based on the transaction pattern of the usage of cards by customers in coordination with the authorized card payment networks for arresting fraud.
Banks are also expected to ensure that all infrastructure that is currently operational on IP (Internet Protocol) meets the necessary quality standards.  The new quality norms will be operations from June 30, 2013.
RBI has recommended that banks move towards real time fraud monitoring systems at the earliest while providing easier methods (like SMS) for the customer to block his card and receive a confirmation to that effect after blocking the card.  KNN