During holidays, including the Christmas and New Year’s season, the Citadele Bank receives more calls from clients about payment cards that have been lost or found. A study conducted by the bank shows that most people in Latvia have good information about what to do if they find someone else’s payment card, as well as what to do if they have lost their own payment card.
The SKDS survey shows that 90% of respondents would immediately bring a card that has been found to the nearest branch of the bank that has issued it or ring the bank’s information line. Interestingly, 15% of respondents said that they would first try to find the owner of the card on social networks.
“I am pleased that people are very conscientious and educated about losing and finding payment cards,” says Citadele board member Kaspars Cikmačs. “Our experience shows that there are fewer cases in which people are confused and don’t know what to do. Citadele offers distance services on a 24/7 basis, including on holidays, and that means that any client can contact the bank at any time to receive consultations.”
When it comes to losing payment cards, nearly 20% of respondents in the survey said that they have lost a card once or more than once during the past three years. 3% said that they would not be in any big hurry to contact the bank if they lost the card, because they don’t believe that someone else could use it. Cards have been lost most often by people aged 25-35. Men are more conscientious about the security of their payment cards than women are, although the data show only a small difference in terms of the percentage of men and women who have actually lost a card – 17% and 20% respectively. Perhaps because of their hurried lifestyle, people in Rīga are more likely than people in other parts of the country to lose a payment card.
The Citadele Bank asks all clients to remember a few simple security rules to keep cards and the data that they contain safe. PIN codes and other important data such as expiration dates, the number of the card, the numbers on the signature band, etc., should never be disclosed to anyone else. Don’t photograph or film your card, and never publish an image of it on the Internet or on social networks with the data being visible. Never give your payment card to a third party. When paying for something with a card, watch what the store clerk does with the card – never let it be taken away from your field of vision.
The Citadele/SKDS survey was conducted in October 2015, and 1,005 residents aged 18 and above took part in it.