Chip and PIN credit cards for Europe

[Lsbcal]

I only have a magnetic stripe ATM card and it has worked just fine for getting cash in Australia, New Zealand and Canada this last year. (all three countires are CHIP and PIN).
...

This is encouraging. We will be in the UK and Italy in September.

 

[audreyh1]

Problem with using ATM is the low daily withdrawal limits in some countries. Besides, my bank/credit union charges $6-10 per out of country ATM withdrawal which coupled with the low withdrawal limit pretty much offsets the lower rate at a bank/money changer. I never use my debit card for making purchases because 1) better rewards with credit card and 2) better protection with credit card. I know you're not liable for fraudulent transactions with a debit card but that's still your money that's temporarily gone from the account while you're disputing transactions. At least with credit cards, it's the bank's money.

I had no problems with low withdrawal limits in France - not even in the smaller cities.

Now - the fees on ATM cards from the US issuing banks is a real problem. I solved this by opening a Schwab Investor Checking account - no fees at all. And a Fidelity cash management account as a backup - 1% foreign transaction fee, but reimburses all other ATM fees.

I used quite a bit of cash in Europe. The credit card was used for larger expenses like hotel bills, the more expensive meals, museum entrance fees/souvenirs, and large purchases. Most other items, less expensive meals, local transport, etc., it was simply easier to pay cash.

I never use my debit cards at other than an ATM.

 

[Alan]

This is encouraging. We will be in the UK and Italy in September.

In the UK I have a UK bank account, so I can't confirm if a stripe only ATM card will work but I very much expect that it will.

In 2013 I used my US stripe only ATM card for cash in France, Iceland and Norway so I'm pretty confident you will be okay in Italy.

 

[Lsbcal]

In the UK I have a UK bank account, so I can't confirm if a stripe only ATM card will work but I very much expect that it will.

In 2013 I used my US stripe only ATM card for cash in France, Iceland and Norway so I'm pretty confident you will be okay in Italy.

In 2013 I used our debit card (mag strip) in the UK. Just hoping it's the same now.

 

[iac1003]

A number of expats in Mexico use Xoom - set up from home bank at first and one can send money to oneself in many foreign countries. Many daily withdrawal limits are $800-$1000 or even $1500 with a $4.95 transaction fee. People say they get a better rate than the bank ATM rate. It is more than I would want to pay for a fee but if I needed that much cash quickly it is another avenue and does not involve a debit card.

I'm in Mexico now for 2 weeks and am about to use my new Schwab debit card. I have a Capital One 360 account as well and that debit card has NFT fees but Visa might charge their 1% fee. That's my back up debit card.

DH has had an HSBC Premier credit card for years although we no longer have an HSBC account and I have a Capital One credit card. Both have NFT fees as far as I can tell.

All our cards have chips but so far it has been chip & signature for the credit cards.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[brett]

We live in Canada. We have had chip and pin cards for a number of years...at least four. We use them in Europe regularly....ATMs, ticket machines, whatever. Never a problem.

There is definitely a difference in Visa cards in Canada. If we use either of our usual bank issued VISA cards, a fee of 2.5 percent is tacked on to each foreign transaction. The fee is bundled so that the only thing we see is a line item charge. TThis fee is only identified in the Visa agreement that few people read but everyone has to agree to.

However, we use a Chase Bank Canada Visa card (Marriott, Sears, Amazon) for foreign transactions. To my knowledge they are the only Visa card in Canada that does not charge any admin fee on foreign transactions. The charges come across within 2/100 or 3/100ths of 1 percent of the market FX rate. The only variance is the time of day that the transaction hits. We have checked the exchange rate numerous times with at six different currencies. This card saves us a fair amount of money because we usually travelling outside the country for five months each year.

 

[explanade]

Problem with using ATM is the low daily withdrawal limits in some countries. Besides, my bank/credit union charges $6-10 per out of country ATM withdrawal which coupled with the low withdrawal limit pretty much offsets the lower rate at a bank/money changer. I never use my debit card for making purchases because 1) better rewards with credit card and 2) better protection with credit card. I know you're not liable for fraudulent transactions with a debit card but that's still your money that's temporarily gone from the account while you're disputing transactions. At least with credit cards, it's the bank's money.

You need to switch credit unions.

 

[NanoSour]

This is encouraging. We will be in the UK and Italy in September.

Just got back from Italy and no problem using mag strip debit mastercard. Used extensively in Rome and Florence at both ATMs and restaurants. The ATMs required a PIN and the restaurant used signatures.

Have fun…I'm jealous as I'm suffering post vacation blues.

 

[rodi]

When we looked at the video on how to use the card they basically said that unattended locations would require a pin... but you could go to the window and buy from the person....

Sounds like you found out the hard way....

BTW, why did you not get your pin?

I did get my pin.

And it did work.

I was not prompted for my pin - just for signature - until I was at a machine purchase site. In my case it was the Berlin Dome tickets and later Amsterdam GVB transit 24 hour passes. In both cases, using the machine allowed me to skip a long line.

It did not work on the Berlin kiosk on the S-bahn platform... but that was due to them not taking Visa - only Maestro. We paid cash instead.

+100 on the Schwab Checking ATM card.

 

[audreyh1]

I did get my pin.

And it did work.

I was not prompted for my pin - just for signature - until I was at a machine purchase site. In my case it was the Berlin Dome tickets and later Amsterdam GVB transit 24 hour passes. In both cases, using the machine allowed me to skip a long line.

It did not work on the Berlin kiosk on the S-bahn platform... but that was due to them not taking Visa - only Maestro. We paid cash instead.

+100 on the Schwab Checking ATM card.

I got an invalid card error on a DBahn machine in Munich, and I thought they showed VISA as an option. I chalked it up to not accepting foreign cards, which is often a problem from what I read, depending on where you are. But not always, fortunately. The Vienna Metro machine happily accepted my card and prompted me for the PIN. In the DBahn case I used cash - that machine accepted bills up to €20 which made it easy.

The Amsterdam GVB machines are notorious for only accepting coins, so it's good to know the PenFed Visa works there, and I'll definitely use it next time.

 

[2017ish]

A card I picked up playing mileage awards games this year--Barclay's AA Aviator. Arrived yesterday as replacement for the USAir card. Was able to select my own PIN online. Not a great card, but decent enough. If one were planning to travel to places with unmanned Kiosks, it might be worth looking at.

Unfortunately, may not be available to anyone who didn't have USAir card already. The Many Flavors of Barclaycard AAdvantage Aviator

 

[braumeister]

Interesting piece in the WSJ the other day. The gist of it is in the first few paragraphs:

Bank Bets You Can Remember Another PIN

A regional bank in upstate New York is challenging the industry belief that American credit-card users can’t deal with one more thing to remember.

First Niagara Financial Group Inc. MMFNFGMM said on Wednesday that it is rolling out new chip-enabled credit and debit cards that require customers to enter a personal identification number instead of a signature.

That bucks the industry trend, in which the vast majority of banks and others issuing new chip cards have chosen the signature option, even though merchants say that PINs are more secure.

Chip and PIN cards are used in most other countries, but U.S. bank executives have said they don’t think Americans want to be burdened at the checkout line with having to remember a new four-digit code.

First Niagara executives decided to go with the PIN method because they believe it is better for customers, said Justin Bigham, head of consumer product management at the Buffalo, N.Y. bank.

 

[Texas Proud]

Interesting piece in the WSJ the other day. The gist of it is in the first few paragraphs:

If I got to choose my pin I would not mind....

Most card assign a pin and you live with it... but then again I have not tried to change one in over a decade so it might be different now....

 

[Corporateburnout]

If I got to choose my pin I would not mind....

Most card assign a pin and you live with it... but then again I have not tried to change one in over a decade so it might be different now....

I changed my bank assigned debit card pin on a couple of occasions over the phone with no operator involved.

 

[Alan]

If I got to choose my pin I would not mind....

Most card assign a pin and you live with it... but then again I have not tried to change one in over a decade so it might be different now....

I changed my bank assigned debit card pin on a couple of occasions over the phone with no operator involved.

In the UK you can take your C&P card to certain ATMs and change it yourself.

Last month I received a new magnetic strip ATM/Debit card from my bank and when I called to authorize it I was told that it was now authorized and the first time I used it at any ATM then the 4 digits I entered would be my new PIN. I rushed out and set my new PIN. First time this has been an option for me.

 

[audreyh1]

Interesting piece in the WSJ the other day. The gist of it is in the first few paragraphs:

I always figured those executives forgot Americans had been using debit cards for a loooong time.

 

[meierlde]

Interesting that below some amount american express cards don't even require a signature just stick the card in (at least at Wal-Mart). Actually if you think about it the costs for collection may be greater that the potential loss otherwise.

 

[audreyh1]

Interesting that below some amount american express cards don't even require a signature just stick the card in (at least at Wal-Mart). Actually if you think about it the costs for collection may be greater that the potential loss otherwise.

Most of my credit cards have some amount that doesn't require signature. The amount seems to depend on the store and the card. Some places like Costco it's quite high. Others it may be $50.

 

[Lsbcal]

Interesting piece in the WSJ the other day. The gist of it is in the first few paragraphs:

Why don't those bank executives want to give their customers the option? Could there be another motive here? I don't know what that would be though but I'm suspicious.

 

[sengsational]

Follow the money...they probably somehow see profits slipping away with C&P.

 

[Bamaman]

As of 10/1/2015, all bank credit cards are supposed to furnish you with a PIN and Chip card. I just received mine the other day.

If a merchant doesn't have his computer hardware setup to handle P&C, any fraud conducted will be his responsibility. Target, Walmart and a few have it setup. I was in Aldi's today, and they have the hardware but are not going to be using the P&C software until after 1/1/2016.

If a bank doesn't issue a C&P credit card by 10/1/2015, it's 100% their responsibility.

We just received from Europe without our C&P card. No problem was experienced, as we just signed the receipt with a pen

 

[REWahoo]

As of 10/1/2015, all bank credit cards are supposed to furnish you with a PIN and Chip card.

I think you are correct on the chip, but not the pin...

"There aren't going to be many issuers requiring a PIN," she says. "A vast majority will be issuing chip-and-signature cards, which aren't all that different from how credit cards work now."

8 FAQs about EMV credit cards

 

[gauss]

As of 10/1/2015, all bank credit cards are supposed to furnish you with a PIN and Chip card. I just received mine the other day.

If a merchant doesn't have his computer hardware setup to handle P&C, any fraud conducted will be his responsibility. Target, Walmart and a few have it setup. I was in Aldi's today, and they have the hardware but are not going to be using the P&C software until after 1/1/2016.

If a bank doesn't issue a C&P credit card by 10/1/2015, it's 100% their responsibility.

We just received from Europe without our C&P card. No problem was experienced, as we just signed the receipt with a pen

My understanding of the post 10/1/15 "liability shift" is that at least for retail face to face transactions, the liability will lie with the entity that has the lower technology (the merchant or the card issuing bank) when a fraud occurs. If there is a tie, then the old rules would apply.

-gauss

 

[Chuckanut]

Follow the money...they probably somehow see profits slipping away with C&P.

+1

Inconvenienced by an American chip and signature card while traveling out of the country? The big mega banks have a simple answer. We don't care. We don't have to.

 

[Chuckanut]

As of 10/1/2015, all bank credit cards are supposed to furnish you with a PIN and Chip card. I just received mine the other day.

The only chipped card I have is one I recently got. The rest of my credit cards have not be updated with a chip as of today. Should I charge my bank a late fee?