Debit Card FAQs Personal

A: You have several options to report your card lost or stolen:

With any of these options, your card will be cancelled and a new one will be sent to you quickly upon request. We will also work with you to ensure that your accounts are safe and secure. 

A: If you find debit card purchases on your account that you have not authorized or participated in please complete this Online Dispute Form to report the issue or contact Customer Service Monday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. at (877) 865-5050 or (256) 386-5000. Please note that you may still be required to visit a branch to complete the dispute process.

A: There are several ways to activate your new card:

A: After you use your card at a merchant or ATM/Point of Sale terminal, the funds will be debited from your designated checking account (just as if you wrote a check).

A: If the business accepts MasterCard for payment, they will accept your Bank Independent Debit Card.

A: There are no interest charges associated with using your debit card because, unlike a credit card, you are paying for the merchandise with your money in your checking account.

A: Yes! In addition to the merchant receipt you receive at the time of sale, your purchase will be listed on your bank statement.

A: Bank Independent imposes no fees if you use your card to make a purchase or if you use your card at an ATM belonging to Bank Independent. However, there may be a fee charged for transactions made at non-Bank Independent ATMs.

A: EMV is a "chip" technology for debit and credit cards. EMV stands for “Europay, MasterCard and Visa” and although the technology originated in Europe, it is becoming a standard throughout the world. The United States is transitioning to EMV technology. 

A: Chip cards look like regular debit or credit cards, but feature a secure embedded microprocessor chip in the card for storing and transmitting data. As chip cards become standardized in the US, point-of-sale terminals and ATMs must be enabled to process these cards.

A: Because a chip card is extremely difficult to counterfeit and requires special equipment to read, chip cards greatly decrease the probability of fraud through counterfeit cards or skimming (attaching devices to card readers to capture card information). Also, the point-of-sale terminals will be better equipped to authenticate cards, so fraudulent cards should not work. Customers’ confidential data will be more secure with a chip-enabled card.

A: Chip cards will be inserted into the terminal to be read rather than swiped. Merchants were to begin using chip-enabled terminals no later than October 2015 or accept additional liability. However, chip-enabled cards will feature both magnetic strips and chips that can be run using either method, at least for a while after the transition. 

A: Yes. Chip card transactions are either “chip-and-PIN” or “chip-and-signature” transactions (a lot of people use these terms to describe the chip card itself). 

A: Because your card will still have a magnetic stripe, you will still be able to swipe your card like you do today. However, the transaction will not be as secure as a chip card transaction. 

A: Because of our commitment to protect you and your account from fraud, we carefully monitor for activity that differs from your usual spending patterns, transactions that occur in locations outside of your usual activity, and attempts to perform transactions in countries that we have blocked due to high fraud activity. When this occurs, we will sometimes block activity on your debit card until we can confirm this activity is legitimate. Learn more about our debit card monitoring here.

To minimize transaction problems and processing disruptions while you travel, please notify Bank Independent of your travel plans before you leave. You can call Customer Service at (256) 386-5000 or (877) 965-5050 Monday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., submit this form, or for added convenience submit a travel notice from your Sync mobile or online account. When logged into your account, click on your profile picture, select Settings, then Travel Notices. You can also find the feature in your Card Management options

A: Most likely the merchant has enrolled in Mastercard's Automatic Billing Updater (ABU) program, which automatically updates expired or cancelled debit cards with the new debit card information to replace the old card you had on file with the merchant. This convenient feature keeps you from missing payments and incurring late fees if you forget to update your billing information with your merchant when you get a new debit card. Although all card issuing institutions are required to participate in this program, merchants and customers can opt out. To opt your Bank Independent Debit Card out of the ABU program, please contact Customer Service at  (256) 386-5000 or (877) 865-5050 Monday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.