Chip and PIN credit cards for Europe

[braumeister]

The chip and signature card I've been told will work in terminals, kiosks and gas stations -- will see about that when I'm there.
...
Am I missing anything?

Just be sure you know the PIN for each card.
All my chip cards (I'm up to three now) work as chip and signature when the merchant wants to do that, and chip/PIN when necessary (unattended kiosks like train stations and gas stations). After quite a bit of foreign travel earlier this year, I don't worry about it like I used to before the travel.

 

[explanade]

They don't issue PINs with chip and signature cards here.

Just a cash advance PIN, which is a different matter.

 

[braumeister]

I didn't realize that; thanks for pointing it out.
My chipped Visa and Mastercard each came with a PIN.

The Mastercard from USAA always worked as chip & PIN, while the Andrews FCU Visa often defaulted to chip & signature in restaurants, but was fine as chip & PIN for buying train tickets at kiosks.

It can be confusing, since these cards also have the magnetic strip so function normally as swipe cards in this country.

 

[bmcgonig]

Heading to Europe for 3 weeks this Friday. I'm taking 3 credit cards and one debit card. I have a chip and pin card from Wells Fargo, but was surprised that it comes with a 3% transaction fee for each use abroad -- that hurts! I also have a chip and signature card from Chase (Marriott Rewards) and magnetic strip card from Chase (United Explorer) which I've been told by Chase should work well in Europe. The chip and signature card I've been told will work in terminals, kiosks and gas stations -- will see about that when I'm there. Chase tells me that its cards have not international transaction fees when used in Europe, so I intend to use those cards primarily for retail purchases. Wells Fargo tells me that there's no fees for taking out Euros at ATM machines, so in case I need some cash I'll use the debit card. I think I have all bases covered. Am I missing anything?

I have two Chase cards, one VISA and one mastercard. The MasterCard has no foreign transaction fees. The VISA does. Also, Wells Fargo charged me $5 for each ATM transaction in Europe, so that was about a 2% hit each time.


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[audreyh1]

So far the PenFed card has been showing its signature priority. I haven't needed to use an automated kiosk yet. Maybe in Munich.

In general I use my BofA Travel Rewards chip and signature card because it gives me 1.5% credit rewards in addition to no foreign transaction fee.

 

[fidler4]

So far the PenFed card has been showing its signature priority. I haven't needed to use an automated kiosk yet. Maybe in Munich.

In general I use my BofA Travel Rewards chip and signature card because it gives me 1.5% credit rewards in addition to no foreign transaction fee.

I have a BofA Travel Rewards Chip and Signature card coming in the mail for my upcoming trip to Germany. Audreyh1 it looks like you are not having any issues with this card. That is good to know.


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[audreyh1]

I have a BofA Travel Rewards Chip and Signature card coming in the mail for my upcoming trip to Germany. Audreyh1 it looks like you are not having any issues with this card. That is good to know.


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The card worked fine last year too. As long as you don't need a PIN. Which is why I got the PenFed card - for use at automated kiosks. But so far all the transactions have been at manned counters.

I could have tried it at the machines at Schiphol to buy our train tickets into town. But we needed to add money to our OV Chipkaarts for the metro system anyway which required a visit to the NS counter and that covered the train as well.

 

[ChrisC]

The card worked fine last year too. As long as you don't need a PIN. Which is why I got the PenFed card - for use at automated kiosks. But so far all the transactions have been at manned counters.

I could have tried it at the machines at Schiphol to buy our train tickets into town. But we needed to add money to our OV Chipkaarts for the metro system anyway which required a visit to the NS counter and that covered the train as well.

In Paris for a few days, and been using my chip and signature card for the most part. Went to a grocery store this evening a few blocks from the Louvre, the guy in front of me used a magnetic strip credit card (I think he was American as I overheard him earlier speaking English) -- his card worked fine and he didn't have to sign. I used my chip and signature card right after him -- it worked fine as well.

 

[audreyh1]

PenFed chip and PIN VISA card did not work in a Deutsch Bahn ticket machine in Munich today. It gave a vague message like "card not valid".

The machine also accepted cash, so I went that route. I just thought I'd try the card as a test. Fail! At least there. I didn't think to try the BofA card to see what would happen.

Disappointing.

I'd already used it as chip and signature several places with no problem.

 

[brett]

In most places in Canada we no longer have to slide our chip/card into the reader. We simply have to hold it near the hand held device, or touch the side, and the chip registers.

 

[Meadbh]

In most places in Canada we no longer have to slide our chip/card into the reader. We simply have to hold it near the hand held device, or touch the side, and the chip registers.

For transactions under $50 (At least at TD).

TD Canada Trust Visa Credit Cards - Visa payWave | TD Canada Trust

 

[braumeister]

PenFed chip and PIN VISA card did not work in a Deutsch Bahn ticket machine in Munich today. It gave a vague message like "card not valid".

I'm fairly sure that's because the DB machines simply don't accept foreign credit cards. Nothing to do with the mechanics of yours, just their policy.

 

[audreyh1]

I'm fairly sure that's because the DB machines simply don't accept foreign credit cards. Nothing to do with the mechanics of yours, just their policy.

It could well be. At least they accept cash.

 

[In-control]

You only want to use the CC with chips - I have one and just got back from Europe - worked everywhere I went and I felt much more secure.

After the Home Depo scare I think that this will become the defacto CC format soon.

I did not need a pin as it was not a debit card

 

[audreyh1]

You only want to use the CC with chips - I have one and just got back from Europe - worked everywhere I went and I felt much more secure.

After the Home Depo scare I think that this will become the defacto CC format soon.

I did not need a pin as it was not a debit card

Yes, I only have credit cards with chips. But they don't solve all of the issues with using cards in automated machines in Europe.

And in Europe, credit cards have PINs too (not just debit cards).

 

[In-control]

Yes, I only have credit cards with chips. But they don't solve all of the issues with using cards in automated machines in Europe.

And in Europe, credit cards have PINs too (not just debit cards).

Good point and true

 

[audreyh1]

PIN Success!!!

Today I tried the PenFed VISA chip and PIN credit card in a Vienna metro ticket machine. It prompted me for my PIN, I entered it, and it happily spit out my tickets and the receipt.

Woohoo!

Nice to finally verify that the PenFed chip card technology works, and my PIN worked. €32.40, so it was a goodly amount.

Wiener Linien machine at Wien Westbahnhof pictured below.

 

[In-control]

I will be in Paris next week and have BoA Chip card.
But I have no PIN assigned (I think)
So how will it work in Metro or toll machines?

I used my bank ATM card to get cash then used it to buy the tickets. Some ticket machines don't take cards and during the rush and frustration I do not want to fiddle with cards and people looking over my shoulder.

Also you can, sometimes, buy metro tickets at the reservation desk of most hotels, as long as your staying their. We did that a few times with great success and no stress.

 

[Chuckanut]

PIN Success!!!



Nice to finally verify that the PenFed chip card technology works, and my PIN worked. €32.40, so it was a goodly amount.

.

And the euro is falling! Maybe I will again see a $1 cappuccino in Roma.

 

[explanade]

I'm hoping Apple Pay is rolled out in Europe.

 

[mpeirce]

I'm hoping Apple Pay is rolled out in Europe.

I'm sure they'll get to that pretty soon. They need to roll it out here first.

I want to see more of the gory details, but from what Apple said yesterday it really sounds like they have a very well thought out system based on some excellent crypto.

Chip and pin is certainly a welcome improvement over swipe cards, but Apple Pay should take security up an order of magnitude over swipe cards. After all these data breaches at retailers (Home Depot just this week), a system that doesn't give the retailer any information to lose would be welcome. They just get a once use token they use to get payment:

“Security and privacy is at the core of Apple Pay. When you’re using Apple Pay in a store, restaurant or other merchant, cashiers will no longer see your name, credit card number or security code, helping to reduce the potential for fraud,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “Apple doesn’t collect your purchase history, so we don’t know what you bought, where you bought it or how much you paid for it. And if your iPhone is lost or stolen, you can use Find My iPhone to quickly suspend payments from that device.”
​

 

[Meadbh]

How is Apple Pay different from this

Mobile Payments - Pay with your Bell smartphone

or this

Tim Hortons - TimmyMe Mobile App

or this?

Banking | Ways to bank | Ways to pay | Mobile Payment

 

[explanade]

Apple Pay is using a relatively new standard, which just came out this year. It does tokenization in the device, to generate a one-time use code that is handed off.

There are other implementations with NFC, which replicates EMV.

Probably the same to users, though user experience may be better. But some security experts are saying it's more secure than anything that has come before it.

If that is the case, I'm sure competitors will catch up, though so far, nobody had implemented as good a fingerprint reader. Samsung put it in their phones but reportedly it's not as good.


As for storing data, I wouldn't mind if it stored electronic receipts or a log of all the transactions that you can view, search through, import into Quicken and other personal finance apps (on the devices)and applications (on Macs and PCs).

 

[2B]

Apple Pay is using a relatively new standard, which just came out this year. It does tokenization in the device, to generate a one-time use code that is handed off.

So how does Apple Pay work when returning something? Does Apple Pay have any of the "benefits" you get when you buy via a credit card?

It sounds like merchants will be required to install a separate system for AP.

Not being a member of the Apple cult, I'm not particuarly excited by anything Apple does.

 

[Bestwifeever]

This could be a nice little revenue source for Apple as it would take a bite of the transaction fee apple (groan):

Apple also may have found a new revenue stream in rolling out the payments service.

The card-issuing banks have agreed to pay a per-transaction fee to Apple to be included on the phone, according to people familiar with the situation. While the amount of the fee couldn't be determined, banks believe that cost will be offset by the number of transactions that consumers make on the phone. The banks collect fees from merchants on every credit and debit-card transaction. Can Apple Solve Riddle of Mobile Payments With Apple Pay Service? - WSJ