Magnetic strip credit cards that do not have integrated circuit chips will be restricted from cash advance and card loan services at automatic teller machines.

Other functions such as purchasing goods at stores will still be available.

Starting from Thursday, users will no longer be able to take cash advance and loan services at ATMs using their conventional MS type credit cards, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.

“The purpose is to fundamentally prevent crimes using forged credit cards to take cash loans,” said Park Sang-choon, cooperative finance and loan business supervision director at the FSS.

The actual impact on the market is expected to be minimal as most credit card users are using the new type IC cards, he added.

As of the end of February, among credit card users who have taken cash loans in the past, 99.1 percent have already transferred to IC chip cards, according to the FSS data.

The gold or silver-colored IC chips are attached on the front of credit cards and have mostly replaced the conventional black-colored magnetic strips at the back side.

After having test-operated the new IC system since September last year, the FSS recently concluded that the trade environment is ready to accept IC credit cards.

But as a temporary means to minimize customer inconvenience for those who have not been able to transfer their cards, the FSS will ensure that at least one ATM at every banking center can process MS cards until the end of May.

Customers may contact their credit card company by calling the customer service center number noted on the back of their cards and apply for a reissuance.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)