Originally Posted by
joshwex90
When using offline PIN, does the terminal still check the network to ensure you can make the purchase? (Sufficient credit) Or is processed as a purely offline transaction, like on a flight? I ask because I seem to recall that in France, the impetus for doing offline PIN was the high cost of connecting all these places to a network. But if that's the case, sounds like they can't communicate with anything...
It's up to the retailer. Most places will allow low value transactions without
authorisation - unless the card doesn't allow it (e.g. prepaid cards, debit cards for children etc.).