Wednesday, March 20, 2013

SNS Bank, RegioBank and ASN Bank will shortly introduce geo-blocking for customers with a current account. This means that the possibility to withdraw cash from an ATM or pay at a pay terminal outside Europe is blocked by default. Customers who do wish to withdraw cash or pay with their card outside Europe have to inform their bank. Banks are introducing geo-blocking to further reduce the risk of skimming-related losses for customers.

The measure fits in the banks' policy to further reduce the risk of skimming fraud as effectively as possible, with minimal impact on customers' ease of use. The introduction of the EMV chip, for example, resulted in a big drop in skimming fraud. Furthermore, ATMs are protected against skimming as well as possible. These and other measures have reduced the number of skimming incidents considerably, but unfortunately they still happen. To further reduce this risk, SNS Bank now introduces geo-blocking.

From Tuesday 19 March all customers are informed how to unblock and block their debit cards for use outside Europe. More information on geo-blocking can be found on the websites of the various brands.

• For ASN Bank customers: www.asnbank.nl
• For RegioBank customers: www.regiobank.nl
• For SNS Bank customers: www.snsbank.nl

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