Banks will soon have discontinue debit cards that don't ask for an authorisation code when used to pay for purchases as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks to stop issuing offline debit cards.

The central bank issued a notice stating that banks can issue only online debit cards, or only those debit cards where typing of authorisation codes are obligatory, within the next six months.

The notification issued on Thursday stated, "Banks which are presently issuing offline debit cards may conduct a review of their offline debit card operations and discontinue operations of such cards within a period of six months from the date of this circular."

It means online debit cards will replace all offline debit cards, and anybody swiping a debit cards in shops or petrol pumps will have to also type in their PIN.

In addition, the central has granted a general authorization to banks to issue rupee denominated co-branded pre-paid cards. In a bid to prevent the use of stolen cards, the central bank also suggested banks to consider issuing debit cards with photographs of the cardholders on them.

The RBI also warned that the bank would be held responsible for direct losses suffered by a cardholder because of a malfunction in the bank's system.