(Lee Sae-min, johnlee@chosun.com )
Starting next year, bank and debit cards that use magnetic strips are to be replaced with cards that have integrated-circuit (IC) chips, which are virtually impossible to duplicate or modify.
The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Monday that the nation's 18 state-run and private banks, except the Export-Import Bank of Korea, would issue the ˇ°IC cardsˇ± from January to March next year on a trial basis. Starting in April, all bank branches will be issuing the cards, the BOK said.
Along with safer financial transactions, the IC cards are also to offer a wide array of new services. The central bank said the cards may be used as a form of e-money, so that people will not have to carry coins or small bills.
Meanwhile, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the financial-market watchdog, said it plans to issue IC credit cards on a trial basis starting in March next year, so that the new cards could replace all existing credit cards by 2008.
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