Panayiotis Rougalas
Cypriot banks have been asked to address an issue related to a specific batch of cards manufactured by a bank supplier in Cyprus on behalf of Mastercard.
Specifically, a portion of Cypriot bank customers are unable to complete transactions using Mastercard cards issued by the US-based multinational financial services company.
According to bank sources working to resolve the issue, the problem is not widespread and was caused by a specific supplier of these cards. A specific batch of cards issued by a specific supplier had a "code" that allowed them to function normally until December 31, 2022. That is why, beginning in 2023, there will be a problem with contactless transactions, either with ATMs or for other purposes.
Payments that are not made using the contactless method, as highlighted in "K," continue to operate unabated.
Banks, on the other hand, have already identified customers who fall within the "problematic perimeter" and informed them that their cards will be replaced.
Finally, if the banks' card supplier manages to resolve this technical issue before the customers' cards are replaced, they will not be replaced.
[This article was translated from its Greek original]
