Glad to see the UNFCU cracking open the door. Hopefully other forward thinking CU's will join.

In complete agreement here. Blame the banks, not the victims. :td:

I am sure to run to the first US bank to start issuing chip and pin. Until then, we could all make good on our threats and open foreign cards.

Here's a little story on the issue in USA Today, June 1, 2010:

Americans are increasingly facing difficulty using their credit cards abroad.

Chief culprit? Different technology standards.

U.S.-issued cards still have magnetic strips. More cards abroad are issued with encrypted microprocessor chips, and shops and businesses have adjusted the payment process to the varying standard, says Jack Jania of Gemalto, which develops chip cards.

The chip cards — called chip-and-PIN cards because users must enter their personal identification number — are "being deployed everywhere else," he says.

According to trade group Smart Card Alliance, 22 countries are migrating to the chip-and-PIN standard, including many in Western Europe, China, India, Japan, Mexico, Canada and Brazil. They're embracing the new technology because it's more secure than using magnetic strips, Jania says.

In a 2009 survey, consulting firm Aite Group concluded that the majority of U.S. credit and debit card holders had experienced some difficulty using their cards abroad.

Tom Griffin, a book editor at Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door, a website and publisher of travel books, says the issue is frequently discussed in his company's online forum. "It's getting worse."

rest of story is at:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/...ard01_ST_N.htm

The US always seems to lag behind everyone else when it comes to getting rid of the old and moving on to the new...

Don't blame the banks, blame Visa/MC... They follow the European example over in Europe but haven't suggested doing the same over here...

Isn't it ironic you can use a chip & pin Visa/MC but they won't accept your magnetic stripe version... Then you mention you have a magnetic stripe Amex and they say they will take it... YMMV....

Gemalto is hosting a webcast tenatively set for 6/23 to discuss this topic.

They're also going to start an online petition :rolleyes: to urge banks to offer this. I wouldn't expect that to have much impact really, but the webcast may contain interesting info.


(original source - http://community.seattletimes.nwsour...lay.php?id=123. Look for answer stamped Tue, May 25, 2010 3:42 PM)

I would expect more success if someone starts a Facebook group advocating chip-and-pin credit card availability.

I would expect more success if a bank sees demand from corporate accounts rather than consumers. However, in the consumer market I expect the first USA banks which offer card with chips will (a) charge an incrementally higher annual fee for those cards and (b) will charge a full (~3%) foreign transaction fee.

The last hotel I stayed in in Slovenia couldn't use my chipless no Forex card. Offered me a 15% discount for cash. It may just be much cheaper to go with cash. (A restaurant offered 5% off for cash.)

Although chip and pin would be nice, not critical yet. Almost all attended businesses take swipe card. But have some cash in your money belt and plan a bit ahead, ie. fill up tank often.

No thanks!

Chip & PIN is not as secure as they make it seem. It's already old technology.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMV#201...on_stolen_card

I think the concern is compatability. Chip & PIN has been widely adopted, and USA cardholders who travel internationally need to have the ability to request it. I daresay all current payment technology is compromised and will eventually be replaced, but I don't need to form an opinion on the relative merits of Chip & PIN versus maginetic stripes to know that it would be useful today.

As mentioned here if this is "$100/yr useful" to you, you should have no trouble making it happen.

We happen to have a UK bank account and a Chip & PIN card, but most people won't want to go that exertion.

If you can't be bothered to open an account, I'd say you don't really want it.

You can't be serious. Do you have any idea what is involved in opening a foreign account for the average person? Have you ever had a foreign account?

The point is the banks should be willing to offer chip and pin to their clients. I would pay several hundred a year for this option, and my guess is other frequent intl travelers would as well.