Arvest Bank Group is reissuing select debit and credit cards in response to recent reports of data breaches at several major merchants.
The Fayetteville-based bank already has contacted customers at increased risk and is in the process of issuing replacement cards, the bank said on its website. Those who receive new cards are encouraged to begin using it as quickly as possible and to destroy their old cards.
Jason Kincy, an Arvest spokesman, said Monday that the bank did not suffer a data breach, and the replacement of debit and credit cards is a precautionary measure aimed at vulnerable bank customers. He estimated the bank had reissued several thousand cards.
"We try to identify the ones that really need to be replaced," he said.
Kincy said affected customers were contacted, and it is likely that most have already received replacement cards in the mail. The cards currently held by the vulnerable customers will be deactivated when the new card is activated or at the end of December.
Arvest is the state's largest bank with $6.6 billion in deposits in Arkansas as of June 30, $2.6 billion more than Regions Financial, its closest competitor. The bank's deposits made up 12.3 percent of the state's total market at the time.
Recent victims of data thefts include home improvement store The Home Depot in September, where its self-checkout lanes were targeted and 56 million credit and debit cards potentially compromised. Office supply store Staples reported late last month the possibility of a small data breach. Sears said in October that its Kmart stores' point of sales systems had been hacked just a few days after Dairy Queen reported a similar attack.
Late last year, retailer Target Corp. said hackers gained access to information on 40 million credit and debit card accounts, while luxury retailer Neiman Marcus said in January its debit cards were compromised by hackers.
Tim Yeager, associate professor at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and holder of the Arkansas Banking Association's chair in banking, said the decision to reissue cards is one banks make individually and often is based on advice by experts in technology and security.
He said a bank issuing replacement cards at key times should be reassuring to customers, showing the institution is on its toes and looking out for its customers' best interest. The trick, he said, was to be sure new cards are issued only when necessary, to avoid inconveniencing customers.
Business on 11/18/2014