I REFER to Mr Lim Fah Kiong's Forum Online letter, 'Unanswered - bank's inability to stop copying of confidential details on card' (Sept 16).

We would like to clarify that, besides the card transaction details required to complete a particular transaction at a merchant's point-of-sale terminal, the bank does not require merchants to keep records of any further customer information such as name, address, date of birth and mobile phone number. Any agreement to provide such information is strictly between the cardholder and the merchant, usually for the merchant's promotional programme.

If a cardholder feels his personal information has been compromised or he has been coerced to provide his credit card details to any merchant, we advise him to immediately contact the bank so we can offer the necessary assistance to protect his interest.

Although there have been cases where fraud took place due to the negligence of merchants, such cases are not widespread as there are already measures in place to curb such incidences by making the merchants accountable for such oversight. Banks will continue to monitor merchants for fraudulent transactions. If fraud is due to the negligence of the merchant, the merchant-acquiring bank will take appropriate action against the merchant.

Alice Goh (Ms)
Head, Credit Cards
OCBC Bank

This article was first published in The Straits Times.