I don't believe you need to rush out and get a pre-paid Chip and PIN card for unattended use.

For Tolls there are MasterCard and Visa rules in place to allow customers who have any branded card type (regardless of chip technology or PIN cardholder verification) to allow the card to be used.

I believe that most Tolls and bridges do not require PINs to be entered (due to the nature of high speed toll acceptance). I also believe that all standard credit cards (Visa or MasterCard) will be accepted without issue. I'm interested in experiences to the contrary by PM.

A quick check in the office here suggests that French tolls only read the mag-stripe of cards (chip or no-chip).

For unattended gas stations, PIN may be required. In some countries, there is a default assumption that you know the PIN for your card, and regardless of mag or chip, you are expected to use a PIN.

From my own experience, I'm thinking of Sweden here, PIN is required. Again, a normal credit card (Visa or MasterCard) will be accepted for this, but you will need the PIN.

Taking a debit card our of it's country of origin can be quite interesting. It will need to have some form of international co-branding (Maestro, VPAY, Visa Electron or Visa Debit). In some countries (like the UK), international debit cards without a chip should be accepted with a signature. In other countries (like Sweden), debit cards will require a PIN at the point of sale even for mag-stripe.

Much of my day-to-day work revolves around the testing and certification of Chip and PIN systems, and all these "Chip and PIN" devices are certified by MasterCard for both chip and mag-stripe cards.

You should not get stranded at an unattended gas station because you don't have a chip card. Not having the PIN for your credit card or the unit not taking your debit card is a different matter.

Can I make it clear that while both mag-stripe and chip cards are co-existing, there is a strong policy from Visa and MasterCard to ensure that both kinds of cards are accepted anywhere the brands are displayed. As previously mentioned, there are retailers who do not understand the policy and give uninformed and misleading information to cardholders.

If you have face-to-face dealings with a merchant who won't accept your card because it does not have a chip - my suggestion, take your business elsewhere, and make this clear to the merchant.

The use of PIN as a method of cardholder verification extends beyond "chip" and I expect most people to be familiar with using a PIN at an ATM. To protect against fraud and the use of lost or stolen cards, PIN can also be required at other unattended locations where cards are accepted.

If you are asked for a PIN in an unattended environment, you will need to enter it. My suggestion is to know the PIN for a major brand credit card (not debit) and use it in these environments.

If you have specific experiences - PM me.

Aidan