danpeake

Used my new, chip-enabled Citi Thank You Premier card on a trip to London essentially without incident. When used at a terminal with a cashier you have to sign for your transaction (some ask you to enter your pin, but then the receipt prints out and they realize you have to sign for it). I only used it at one automated machine (at a London Tube station) and it didn't ask for a pin and simply went through without a signature the way most of those places would process a credit card in the U.S.

I wish I had more automated terminal experiences to share, but hopefully someone can provide it soon.

kebosabi

The local pet shop that I frequent to recently replaced his card reader after his old one started dying out. It couldn't read magnetic stripes that well and needed two or three slides to get it through. He had those old credit card swipers that printed out receipts on a dot matrix carbon copy paper (you know, the yellow one is yours, the white one is mine type ones).

The owner ordered a replacement and it came with the EMV slot, contactless reader, the traditional mag-stripe, and a colored LCD screen for signature capture. He didn't request anything fancy; he just asked for a replacement and it already came with "all these bells and whistles." The replacement reader cost him about $400; "less than my iPad."


The readers are no more different than most electronics these days; eventually they need be replaced because nothing lasts forever. And when the time comes for a replacement, you get something better for a much cheaper price.

QueenOfCoach

I will quote my trusted source:

garyschmitt

Yikes! That's astronomical.

The readers can be had for under $20 on the retail market, and tablets with color LCDs retail for under $200. Figure the bulk wholesale net component cost at half that.

Hacking something together and then nearly quadrupling it to arrive at an Apple-like COTS price tag is really fleecing people, particularly when the iPad is probably 1/6th of the thickness, and designed to appeal to the most persnickety of users (and who carry MAC-money).

jamar

And most of that is for consumer (tablets) or small-scale use (in the case of card readers). A card reader designed for commercial use will obviously cost more because the parts involved have to last longer.

cousingigi

Ok, has anyone actually had experience with a hybrid of these 2 notions. I just got the JP Morgan Visa Signature with Chip and Signature technology. I just called and asked them to send me a PIN (which is supposed to just be used for cash advances at ATM's). They are swearing to me that my card will work (sans PIN) in SNCF train kiosks in France and if it doesn't the kiosk manager is in big trouble and I should report it. I guess the question I have is whether having the "cash advance" PIN will also work for a transaction if it asks me for a pin.

Thoughts? Experiences, anyone?

mia

Welcome to Flyertalk.

This is confirmed in post 491 of this thread, which I found by using "Search this Thread" with they keyword: SNCF.

kebosabi

And that's the problem; it's so cheap nowadays that's it's so prone to skimming fraud. Buying a Square mag-stripe reader that one can attach to an iPad for less than $30 at Walmart raises eyebrows in security concerns. Durability wise, a $30 Square mag-stripe reader from Walmart, likely cheapily built in China, probably lasts a year at best; not including the monthly data fee of the iPad.

For businesses that has to eat up the cost of skimming fraud, something like a Square reader + iPad is not something they would want to go with. They would want something that has a direct line to the acquirer, something more durable and long lasting.

From my local pet store owner's perspective, $400 for a replacement device that has the mag-stripe, the contactless, the EMV chip slot, and an LCD signature pad, which has a direct line to the acquirer is a good investment in the long term. While $400 may sound expensive, considering that the average life span and durability of these stand alone POS devices are built to last 15-20 years, through the long term the annual cost of the device pretty much equals the Square reader. In addition the stand alone device comes with contactless and the EMV slot.

And with VISA now issuing TIP incentives to US merchants, he's also protected against eating up the cost of fraud and wouldn't have to comply with expensive annual PCI-DSS fees.

ArizonaGuy

See my experiences in this thread from late December.

The ONLY unstaffed kiosk I successfully used a Chase British Airways Visa with chip & sig was the SNCF kiosk in CDG. I was able to buy RER tix for my wife and I. I couldn't use it at a self-ordering terminal at a Paris McDonald's, nor any Berlin U/S-Bahn kiosk. Nor could I use it at staffed Paris metro ticket window with the card reader embedded in the counter. Employee had me try more than once.

In the locations where I had success (the SNCF kiosk, a number of retail outlets, a staffed bus ticket desk at TXL, among others) the system never once asked for a PIN. Spat out a receipt, much to the surprise of a number of employees who had already started to hand me the PIN pad / card reader.

I have to say that while I'm all for improved technology, the speed of a chip transaction versus a magnetic swipe, when multiplied by lots of customers in line, it ridiculous. That's not even taking into account the delay for someone to enter a PIN.

mia

The list of USA EMV cards which are available today has been transplanted to a separate sticky thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...signature.html

kebosabi

Thanks; hopefully the Google Docs would suffice as a reference. ^

srs507

Just got off the phone with Citigroup, was told the AT&T Universal / Universal Rewards cards (both are Mastercards) are eligible for EMV. Gonna get a call back in a little while since they have system troubles, going to get my MTVu card switched to that and get EMV. Will report back when I speak to them in a little while, and then when I get the card.

The woman did say the AMEX and Visa cards do not have EMV yet on Citi, just MC.

Edit: Got the call back, AT&T Universal Rewards DOES NOT have it. However, they said the Plat Select, Dividend, Simplicity, and TY Preferred did. For me to qualify for the Plat Select I need to get my credit limit raised to $1k from its current level...might give it a shot.

Edit 2: Going forward with the Platinum Select, they granted the credit limit raise. Conversion will take place in early March, will receive the regular Mastercard first. Then have to request the EMV card after that.

kebosabi

It would be helpful if you can update the Google Docs spreadsheet when you physically receive it.

There were reports in the past in this same thread where Citi CSRs says that the EMV option is available but you actually don't know what you end up getting until you physically open the letter in your mailbox. Seems like unless it's actually in your hands, you don't know if they sent you out the EMV+mag-stripe hybrid card or just a blank mag-stripe only version.

srs507

Will update once this saga is over. The CSRs I spoke with were with the AskCiti twitter team, they are more knowledgeable than the regular CSRs. They knew that I wanted the global chip and not just PayPass. I'm going to call them back once I receive the new card (which will NOT have EMV) to have them send the replacement (which WILL have EMV, hopefully).

kbs972

Called citi today about both my TY Premier and Gold AAdvantage, CSR said I could not get EMV on either, but could ... the PayPass to my TY like I have on the AA card. Wonder what I have to do to qualify for the EMV cards...