Last week I noticed that my ATM access card for TD was cracking (right through the middle of the on-card chip). My wife told me I should go get a new one before this card stopped working. The concern was it would most likely stop working at the most inopportune moment. This sounded like a good idea, so I managed to get to the TD branch near my house.
Mrs. C8j had told me that I didn’t have to go to a teller to get a card, I could drop by the desk at the front door, and they would take care of me, so I did. I met a bubbly young lady who was very helpful. She looked at my card and said yes, now would be a good time to replace it as it wouldn’t last much longer. The next question she asked is the crux of my point: did I want to replace my existing card or take a new card with a new number?
The TD ATM card doesn’t have your name on it, so it can be quickly replaced if you wish, and then the young lady pointed out that if I wanted the same number, it would take ten days to get a new card. However, getting a new card with a unique number could be done right away. I decided I’d rather have a new card with a new number since my old card would not last.
This meant I had to change my online access information with the new card number (after the young lady had set up the unique number as my new access card number), but it was pretty easy to do and didn’t take very long.
The inadvertent security crossed my mind as I changed my online interface, as now that number is changed if anyone had stolen my banking info or “cloned” my card (as Mrs. C8j had in TD, I Apologize ). I wonder what TD might do if, every six months or so, I came in with a damaged card and asked for a new one. My guess is they might not care much, although their security division might notice after a while, this looks like an exciting security measure. The number on my ATM access card is not needed for anything except for ATM transactions and Interac transactions, so changing it means I have to change my online banking.
I believe I stumbled across an interesting inadvertent security measure.
“I wonder what TD might do if every 6 months or so I came in with a damaged card and asked for a new one? My guess is they might not care much, although their security division might notice after a while”
Just tell them you work with MRIs and keep leaving it in your pocket.