Paying with cards is extremely common nowadays and most establishments allow you to pay this way. However, there is always a minimal risk. There is a risk that they could clone the card. It is true that in Spain this is not so common, but the probability, no matter how minimal, is there. To prevent this from happening, to reduce the risk as much as possible, we are going to talk to you about something that you can disable on your card.
As you know, to pay by card you will have several options. The most common are contactless payment, which simply involves bringing the POS card within about 5 centimeters, and payment by chip and PIN. But there is also the option of paying for magnetic stripealthough very much out of use for a few years now.
Disable the card’s magnetic stripe
What we recommend is disabling the magnetic stripe on the card. It is a payment method that, at least in Spain, today it is used very little. Yes, it is more present in other countries. Basically, it consists of passing the card through the payment reader, with this band that appears on one of the sides.
The problem is that it is one of the options they have to clone card. If they clone that magnetic stripe, they can use it as if it were you. They are going to copy the data and that will mean that they can steal money from you. If you disable it, you will not have that risk and you will avoid problems.
In fact, many banks already recommend disabling the magnetic stripe. Even MasterCard decided that, in the not too long time, they will begin to issue cards without this band and you can only pay by chip and PIN, as well as contactless. They are safer methods today and are widely spread.
Therefore, if you have the magnetic stripe on your card enabled, we advise you to disable it. This will help you improve security and prevent them from cloning your card. When you pay by contactless, a unique transaction code is generated and that means they cannot clone anything. When paying by chip and PIN, it is also much more difficult for it to be stolen.
How to remove this option
To remove this option, it will depend on your bank and what type of card you use. Generally it is very simple. We have tested it in several banks and the procedure is very similar, although it varies slightly depending on the mobile application. Basically, what you have to do is the following:
- Open the bank application
- Go to card settings
- Search Security or directly Card Limits
- Magnetic stripe (and here disable)
As we say, this process can be different depending on your bank. However, practically all of them will allow this type of configuration. They will give the option of paying contactless or not, setting limits on cash withdrawals, disabling the magnetic stripe, etc. You simply have to look for this option.
In short, removing the magnetic stripe from your bank card can help you pay by card with greater security and prevent it from being cloned. It is not something that is used today, since we pay by contactless or with chip and PIN. Therefore, it is a good option to avoid security risks.
