As I use a US credit card in Europe almost every day, I´d like to clear up some confusion.
Most of the US credit cards are now chip & signature. A few banks do issue chip & PIN cards.
Chip & signature cards may or may not have PINs. This depends upon the card issuing bank. The PIN has two potential uses:
- to approve a cash advance if the card is placed into an ATM (generally not a good idea as fees are very high)
- to authorize a purchase at an unmanned point-of-sale such as ticket kiosk, toll booth, or pay-at-the-pump fuel stations.
Chip & signature cards always default to signature required at
manned sales locations such as restaurants, hotels, or stores. Chip & PIN cards always require a PIN to complete a sale, signatures are never required. Chip & PIN cards are accepted everywhere. Whether or not you use a PIN is not your option; PIN use and card type are determined by the card issuing bank.
There is a lot of misconception about chip & signature card use at
unmanned points-of-sale. Some chip & signature cards will not be accepted at unmanned locations; others will. There are two primary reasons:
- Purchases without verification
- PIN type, off-line vs. on-line
Elsewhere, as in the USA, small purchases with a credit card can be made without verification or without a PIN. The threshold amount, or the sales amount under which a PIN will not be required, is set by the card issuing bank. This threshold amount is typically somewhere under $100. In Europe, just like in the US, purchases for small amounts made at unmanned sales locations, such as ticket kiosks, will be approved without your needing a PIN.
At unmanned sales locations, purchases above the bank´s no verification threshold will require a PIN. Most US cards use on-line PINs, meaning that the PIN entry by the user is compared to an on-line data base containing the user´s PIN information. If you are able to change your PIN by simply contacting your bank, you have an on-line PIN. This on-line verification is also one of the reasons why check out times have increased for those using PINs at US points-of-sale.
Chip & PIN cards have the PIN burned into the chip. There is no on-line verification. Commonly referred to as off-line cards, some US chip & signature cards are issued PINs which are also burned into the chip. Changing the PIN requires changing the card. Many unmanned points-of-sale in Europe have no means to check PIN entries on line. There is no compelling reason for vendors to go to the expense of on-line verification because the bulk of their customers have chip & PIN cards with off-line PINs.
If you attempt to purchase gas at a pay-at-the-pump location in Europe, and you have a credit card with an on-line PIN, your card will be rejected before you can lift the fuel nozzle. If you have a card with an off-line PIN, chances are very good that you will leave the station with a full tank of fuel.
Ideally, for the widest possible acceptance of your credit card while traveling outside of the USA, you want a chip & signature card with an off-line PIN; unless of course you just happen to bank where chip & PIN cards are available.
