Originally Posted by JEFFJAGUAR

I don't think there's any country where you MUST have a card with an emv chip by government decree. We do know the Netherlands is a place where people have reported a great deal of difficulty in using the antiquated US magnetic strip cards but then again, Holland has never been a credit card paradise that's for sure. In many countries, an increasing number of merchants but by no means a majority of merchants, are refusing to take magnetic strip cards and some don't even want to deal with chip and signature cards. See the over 100 page thread on emv cards in the USA for particulars.