This way you can stop unauthorized persons from withdrawing the money on the card. If there was a theft report it also to the police.

To block your card, contact the card issuer bank, either by telephone or by fax on any day of the week at any hour of the day. You can also report your card in person in the branch of the bank during bank opening hours.

All banks that issue cards are obliged to operate emergency contact numbers that should be called to block cards 24 hours a day from both Hungary and abroad. It is therefore important that you always have the phone number for blocking your card with you. This is usually a number that is easy to remember so memorize it if you can, or enter it into the address list of your mobile phone.

In order to block your card you will need its number, expiry date and the number of the connected bank account.  If these details are not available, the issuer can take measures to block your card based on your personal details.

You will not be able to use a blocked card anymore, not even if you should find it sometime later. You will have to request a new card as a replacement for the blocked card, which however is usually subject to a separate fee.

Rules for the use of bank cards, reporting obligations and liability for damages

As of the beginning of march 2007 the government Decree governing the use and functioning of bank cards was superseded by the Government Decree 227/2006 (of November 20) on payment services and electronic payment instruments. In the following text we summarise the major rights and obligations that are worth knowing when using bank cards.

A contract for a bank card, but also for the use of any other electronic payment instrument, must contain the following:

• The features and the usage of your card. Any restrictions on amounts or on the number of transactions and how these can be changed;

• The period of time that elapses from the point in time that the issuer learns of a transaction order made with the card to the point in time that the account of the customer is debited;

• For cards that can be used abroad, the method for specifying the exchange rate to be used to convert amounts in foreign currency into the currency of the bank account (Hungarian Forint);

• The rules of conduct for card holders to observe when using and safe-guarding their bank cards or any related personal identifiers and other identification codes;

• How bank account statements or statements of bank card transactions are sent to the customer;

• How objections related to bank card transactions are to be submitted and dealt with, and the related deadlines;

• The reporting obligations related to the card;

• The data that need to be communicated when reporting.

Reporting obligations:

Pursuant to the contract and the underlying legal statutes, you as the card holder are obliged to report the following without delay to the issuing bank:

• If your card was stolen or lost;

• If you have involuntarily lost control of it in any way;

• If an unauthorised person became aware of the identification code or some other identification detail required for the use of the card. (Attention! Unauthorised use also includes disclosing your PIN code to your relatives or friends!)

• If an unauthorised operation was performed on your bank account.

It is the obligation of the issuing bank to provide for some means of telecommunication for their customers to be able to report cases as above at any point in time.

Details to be reported:

• The number of the card;
• Its date of expiry;
• The number of the associated bank account.

 The expiry date of the card is displayed on its face below its number in a month/date format, e.g., valid 01/08, meaning that the card is valid until January 2008.

If these details are not known at the time of reporting to the person reporting the card, then the credit institution will also take measures to block the card using some other identification details of the card holder. Reporting is also possible by a person other than the card holder.

Liability for damages:

You are liable, to a maximum value of forty-five thousand Hungarian Forints,  for damages that have occurred prior to reporting, due to the loss, stealing or theft of an electronic payment instrument, except that your liability will be unlimited if the damages occur due to your wilful conduct or gross negligence.

The issuing bank will be liable, up to a maximum amount of fifteen million Hungarian Forints, for damages that occur following the reporting, if the damages are due to the loss, stealing or theft of the electronic payment instrument.

The issuing bank is obligated to register reports and to maintain a registry of reports with the possibility of retrieval for five years. Furthermore, it must take all possible measures that can be expected in order the prevent any further use of the electronic payment instrument, even if the holder has violated the contractual provisions when using and safe-guarding the electronic payment instrument.

The issuing bank will be liable for damages due to its failure to take such measures, including cases where the issuing bank has failed to provide for appropriate access and has failed to operate, or has switched off a telephone line that should be available 24 hours a day for calls to block cards.

The issuing bank will be relieved of its liability for damages if it proves that the damages were caused due to the wilful conduct or gross negligence of the card holder. Thus, the issuer will presume wilful conduct or gross negligence if an unauthorised user obtains access to a card together with its associated PIN code in the case of a card that requires a PIN code for its use. This is often difficult to clarify, you should therefore take care not to write the identification code onto your card, and never to store the identification code next to or near to your card.