Press "Enter" to skip to content

Month: March 2012

MBNA – PIN security, slightly lacking

Due to a card fraud incident (CNP), MBNA have had to reissue my Miles and More credit cards (I have a Visa card and American Express card on the same account). They’ve also issued me with new PIN codes. However, I received one letter today that read:

“Your American Express credit card PIN is here

Please be aware:

  • The PIN for your VISA credit card has been sent to you separately
  • The PIN for your American Express and Visa credit cards will be the same.

and another letter reading:

“Your Visa credit card PIN is here

Please be aware:

  • The PIN for your American Express credit card has been sent to you separately
  • The PIN for your Visa and American credit cards will be the same.

Yep – both PINs were the same: so why did they have to send two letters (doubling the chances of interception of the letters?) giving the same details? Why not just one letter saying “Here’s your new PIN code – it’s applicable to your Visa card (ending XXXX) and your American Express card (ending YYYY) which you’ll be receiving in the next few days. The PIN is the same for both cards, and you can can the PIN on either card via most high street cash machines.”