I REFER to last Tuesday's report, 'Credit card stolen? Mind the pitfalls'.

These days I am worried sick. Specifically, I worry about the six credit cards which are my constant companions every time I leave home.

What used to feel like an asset in my wallet is increasingly turning out to be an enormous liability. I shudder at the thought of losing my cards to thieves and facing the contingent liability arising from it.

I am lost at what exactly constitutes prompt reporting. What happens if I lose my wallet in a mall and realise only after a few hours? After all, it appears anyone can walk into the nearest shop in minutes and buy a bunch of Rolex watches on a fraudulent card without any questions asked, leaving me to face the bank's music!

Gone are the days when credit cards were needed only when travelling overseas or in an emergency. These days, savvy marketing tie-ups between card-issuing banks and merchants ensure that no aspect of our lives is complete without multiple credit cards.

With hefty discounts on airline tickets, petrol and groceries, special privileges at clubs and one-for-one deals in restaurants, credit cards have become a way of life for many of us. Therefore, it is important that regulators like the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) be proactive and set limits for consumer liability before consumers vote with their feet.

MAS should also look at all disclaimers of liability made to consumers in fine print, which need a trained legal mind to decipher. Perhaps banks should be made to insist on photo identity checks in high-value transactions as security measures seem inadequate.

Even after holding credit cards for more than two decades, I have yet to be notified by any bank of my lost-card liability in clear terms.

Deepak G. Gurnani

This article was first published in The Straits Times.