Problem #1- If the merchant at the point of sale is not set up to accept a four-digit expiration date (i.e. 06/00 vs. 6/00) the transaction will not be accepted. This may also affect those using the Internet for their bill paying services and could cause customers to incur late fees by having their billing amounts rejected and subsequently become delinquent.
Solution- If your card is rejected and you are sure you have available credit then you will need to educate the merchant yourself and ask that they enter the transaction with a proper four-digit expiration date and/or call the transaction in over the telephone.
Problem #2- Some cardholders currently using their cards in Europe and other foreign countries are having trouble with the expiration date reading backwards. In these countries they format their dates to read differently than ours and an 06/00 expiration date in the United States will read as 00/06 in their country. They were to have complied with the "international rules & regulations" when they updated their systems but it apparently hasn't happened everywhere as of yet.
Solution- As was stated above you may need to educate the merchant. If you have ample available credit for your transaction, the merchant should call the transaction in over the telephone and give it the proper 4 digit expiration date. This may mean that they will have to reverse the date on your card when calling in to fit their system requirements. This will only affect cardholders traveling to these foreign countries and may have even been resolved by the time you receive this notice.
Problem #3- The merchants using the old "hand held" slide machines are currently out of compliance and will have problems trying to receive credit for their daily credit card transactions.
Solution- The merchant will need to obtain the proper equipment to process their transactions yet this issue should be resolved shortly as most financial institutions will no longer accept those deposits. If you have used a card at a merchant who processed your transaction in this manner you may see a slight delay in the charge appearing on your bill, because the merchants will have to process them all by hand upon receiving the proper equipment.
We realize that this process may be more time consuming than you would like but as these errors are discovered they can easily be fixed and we should see most of these issues disappear over the next few months. We hope that by educating our First Bank customers and merchants the inconvenience you experience will be minimal.
Should you need further assistance or have further questions regarding this issue please feel free to call our Mastercard Department.
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YEAR 2000-RELATED FRAUD ADVISORY
Concerns about possible Year 2000 computer problems present opportunities for criminals to defraud customers of banks, thrifts, and credit unions. Be assured that the federal regulators have been working closely with your federally insured financial institution to ensure that it has taken steps to prepare for the Year 2000. Financial institutions are making excellent progress, and we expect the industry will be prepared for the century date change. This alerts you to some fraudulent schemes involving the Year 2000 and advises you on how to avoid becoming a victim of these schemes:
Individuals posing as representatives of credit card issuers have called cardholders and asked them to disclose confidential information, such as account numbers. Callers told credit card holders that their cards would not work after January 1, 2000, unless they attached a new magnetic strip to the back of the credit cards. Callers then asked for account numbers and other information so that they could mail the strip to the cardholders. In reality, callers were trying to trick cardholders into disclosing personal information like their account number, social security number, address, and other personal information that would allow them access to the card holder's account.
Individuals posing as financial institution employees, auditors, or others have called customers and asked them to transfer money from existing accounts to "special Year 2000 safe accounts" while the institution corrects Year 2000 problems. Callers then ask for account numbers and authorization to transfer the money to one of these "special" accounts. In reality, the callers were attempting to gain enough personal information to steal the customer's money.
Please note that no bank, thrift, credit union, or credit card issuer will call you to request your account numbers, personal identification numbers (PIN), or other account information for Year 2000-related purposes. They already have this information.
To help protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud, the regulators recommend that you:
Never give out account information, credit card or social security numbers, or other personal information to someone you do not know, unless you initiate the contact. Remember that no financial institution will call you to ask for personal account information.
Contact your financial institution to report any suspicious request for confidential account information. Don't hesitate to make these calls. If you're being approached, chances are others in your community or around the country are also being targeted.
Be sure you receive and review your account statements on a timely basis. Fraud can involve attempts to change your address so your account statements are mailed to others.
Check the accuracy of account statements when you receive them. Make sure that you have authorized all the charges made to your account and report any discrepancies.
Contact your financial institution if you have any question about its Year 2000 readiness.
