You may have used your credit card in a lot of places. You may have used them while shopping online as well. But, it is highly unlikely that you have paid attention to the expiration date on your card. It is impossible to purchase any online item without providing this detail. You can check onevanilla balance and the expiration dates. Expiration dates have been provided for certain reasons. Following are some of the main reasons for credit cards to expire.
Fraud Protection
One of the reasons for the expiration of credit cards is to provide protection against fraud. Many major payment network companies like MasterCard and Visa have made it mandatory for its credit issuers to provide an expiration date to its credit cards. This provides additional security to the purchases that you make using your card. When your card is swiped, its information passes through a security system which evaluates the legitimacy of the card by reviewing the card number, security code,and theexpiration date.
It is easy for identity thieves to steal the number of your credit card number but they find it hard to steal the expiration date. When you shop online, you must have noticed that you need to provide the expiration date of your card along with your card number. This is just to provide the credit issues with more protection for their account. Expiration dates also prevent fraud by deactivating the credit cards which are unused.
Credit Card Lifespan
Another reason for your card to expire is its lifespan. If you have been using your credit cards for the past few years, then there is a high chance that you are having a scratched and bend credit card with you. This may happen because of the regular swiping of the card at various stores, places, restaurants,and many other places. Doing so, you are likely to end up with a scratched card. Moreover, if you have been carrying your credit card with you everywhere, it is sure to get bend. This will result in making your card chip unreadable. This will make it useless unless you are shopping online where you need to enter the card number, expiration date,andyour PIN. By limiting the lifespan of your card, it becomes necessary for you to change your card before the magnetic strip stops working and so that you have a new card with a new magnetic strip.
Change Conditions/Keep You up to Date
Just like any other company, the banks and other financial institutions also change and update their policies. The expiration dates on your credit cards provide a chance to the banks to review your account before providing you with a new card. There are also chances that a bank or company might be changing its rules and regulations. Thus, these credit card expiration dates provide the bank with an opportunity to provide you with a card with the latest terms and regulations of the bank or company.
Conclusion
Expiration dates are provided for your safety and protection from identity thieves.
