All of the POS systems used by people in Europe still have swipe ability along w/ chip. But if your card has a chip, the swipe may reject (at least that was my experience) and they have to use the chip/signature.
Almost every unmanned kiosk/ticket machine I've come across has required a PIN. But some will take a chip/signature. Last year in Barcelona I was at the metro trying to buy tickets and only had chip/signature at the time. First 3 machines I tried rejected and wanted PIN. Then 4th one was slightly different and didn't want PIN, it processed fine. Train station in Barcelona didn't need a PIN either, it read chip and I got my tickets.
Originally Posted by
SCEflyer
My wife and I spent about a week last September, driving to Mont St. Michel in France from Brussels and return, stopping every night or two along the way. I can't remember how many tolls we paid in France along the way, but it was probably somewhere between 15 and 20. We paid all of the tolls with a Capital One MC, which does not have a chip, without any issues. We also refueled once or twice using the same card without any difficulty.
However, when we were within 10 KM or so of the BRU airport, we wanted to refuel the car before returning it to Hertz. This was a Sunday evening and nothing was open. We found an unmanned fuel pump at a Texaco convenience store, but none of our credit cards, including two with a chip would work. We then, as a last resort, tried a Visa debit card issued by a domestic (US) bank. It worked when I entered our pin, but the exchange bordered on being extortionate.
I looked into this when we returned home, and it appears that you need to have a pin to use along with a card with a chip, when you are at an unmanned POS terminal or kiosk in Europe.