Risk prevention for international credit cards
1. Adjust the credit card limit
Usually, the credit card limit given by the bank is relatively large, but generally speaking, people cannot use so much credit limit, and if the credit card is lost, it will cause a lot of unnecessary losses, so individuals can manually adjust the credit card limit. For example, in the credit card limit adjustment of the China Merchants Bank Online Banking Professional Edition, set a limit to limit the credit card consumption limit to a smaller limit, so that the risk is much smaller, and you can manually modify it back when you need more credit limit.
2. Turn off the ATM withdrawal function of the credit card
People rarely use credit cards to withdraw money at ATMs because the interest rate is incredibly high, and once the credit card is stolen, it will bring more risks, so it is recommended to turn off the ATM withdrawal function of the credit card.
3. Credit card signature or password
Using signature as a consumption voucher for a credit card is the mainstream operation mode in the international banking industry. From the perspective of security, this type of credit card does not need a password, and consumption can be made with just a signature, especially through online banking. Generally, as long as the cardholder’s name, card number, credit card expiration date and query password are known, it may be stolen. Therefore, many domestic cardholders believe that passwords are safer than signatures. However, there are also some disadvantages to using passwords, that is, the responsibility for keeping the password is transferred to the cardholder, which means “loss at your own risk”. Once a credit card is used fraudulently, the rights and interests of the cardholder who uses a signature can often be better protected.
4. Credit card loss or theft
Before applying for a credit card, you should first understand the bank’s credit card risk terms. Do not apply for credit cards from some high-risk banks. These banks usually transfer the credit card risk to the cardholder, so that the loss after the credit card is lost or stolen is borne by the cardholder, while good banks promise to bear the loss of theft within 48 hours before reporting the loss.
Therefore, once a user discovers that a credit card is lost or stolen, they should contact the bank immediately to report the loss. Taking China Merchants Bank’s credit card as an example, after a China Merchants Bank credit card is lost or stolen, the loss of the stolen card incurred within 48 hours before the reporting time can be applied to China Merchants Bank for compensation. China Merchants Bank will bear the loss of stolen credit within the credit limit, with a maximum annual guarantee of RMB 10,000 for ordinary cardholders and RMB 20,000 for gold cards. It is worth noting that the losses borne by China Merchants Bank do not include transactions conducted with passwords.
The last 3 digits on the signature strip of the credit card must never be known to others. It is recommended to seal it with tape when it is not used normally, otherwise it will be easily stolen.