Same here; this is why I'd rather want an EMV card for overseas use because I hate carrying around any type of coin in my pocket/wallet. The less coins I have to carry around the better and the card is able to do that down to the exact cent.

If I want to pay for parking stall in Canada, I'd rather flip out my card and get it done with a slide or chip & PIN than fumbling around to see if I have a loonie or toonie.

Even for public transportation, I usually get and top up the local tap-and-go contactless cards because they're so much more easier to use than fumbling around with exact change.

^ absolutely!

Just received an email from a local CU whose membership criteria that I fall into and they replied they "are putting serious consideration due to increasing number of similar inquiries in the past few months."

Sounds like CUs will be indeed the first issuers of EMV cards in the US. Let the word out and start talking to CUs in your neighborhood/organization. Much better personal response than the canned copy-and-paste message of the big banks.

That is good news. You're right IMO and the CU almost always have low fees and excellent terms. They usually have few gimmicks like loyalty programs (sad post it here because I know there will be flak) that raise overall costs with negative financial results. The programs, that is, cost more that you get out of them

EMV/Chip & PIN news for this week

Frontpage article on today's MSNBC: The Death of the magnetic stripe credit card points out to a pdf file issue by the European Payments Council that gives them the right to refuse transactions to be made using the mag-stripe.


CARTES trade show for smart cards makes first US convention 3/2012 in Vegas

Likely a reaction to US card issuers realizing the need to switch over to a more secure card system as skimming fraud continues to rise.

^ good news

U.S. Bank to Begin Issuing Cards to North American Corporate Clients in Europe by Mid-Year

"The bank initially plans to offer settlement options in euro and British pound sterling and will support its customer language requirements in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. The cards will meet European technology standards, including full Chip-and-PIN capability."

Interesting to note that US Bank is also the exclusive bank which partners with Travelex.

Similar announcement (for corporate clients only) from JP Morgan Chase in 2009:

http://www.jpmorgan.com/tss/General/.../1255280368310

So if I'm going to Europe in 2 months, I guess I better get lots of cash?

Great to see some banks in the states are finally offering EMV cards, but only to corporate clients. I guess they don't realize that your average joe can afford to leave the country every once in awhile :rolleyes:

Not necessarily. Which countries are you visiting? Are you renting a car and planning to buy petrol on nights or weekends? Travelling by train and plan to purchase tickets at the station?

I don't bring "lots of cash," but will generally bring at least a 200-300 euros or pounds for a 2-3 day trip for the vending machines and drinks out at a bar or pub. You can always redeposit any leftover into your account (Chase offers fee-free exchanges). Better to bring too much than too little.

Not necessarily. It will depend heavily on the countries you're visiting, and whether you will need to use the (comparatively few) facilities which require chip&PIN.

@mia: In most (but not all) European countries you will not have any issue using a non-chipped credit card at staffed rail ticket counters. In Ireland, you can even use them at rail ticket machines!

Actually, cash may not help you much! Many of the situations where swipe cards are reported as not being accepted, cash isn't accepted either, for example automated (unattended) gas stations.

If the gas station is attended, you don't need cash, you do need to pay inside with a human.

If the train station has a ticket office, you can pay with a swipe card in there, you just may have to stand in a long line.

There are places where you may need to pay cash, say on subways and such (where there is no ticket station at all, at least nearby), but not big amounts.

You can also work around some of this by planning ahead. Obviously, by buying gas at manned stations long before you "need to", you can avoid being stuck where only unmanned stations (not taking swipe cards) are open.

By geting an "all day pass" for local public transport at a ticket window, you can avoid having to keep paying at stations where only unmanned ticket kiosks are where you can't swipe.

By the way, in some places, train and transport is simpler than "no swipe"; the kiosks take cash only, so even chip&pin wouldn't help there. Long before chip&pin became an issue, or in countries where it wasn't an issue yet, I still have had to use manned ticket windows only, mostly, because that was the only way to pay with any credit card, period. It may be that those places that use to have cash kiosk only went straight from cash only to cash or chip&pin only, but to me that's not a difference. :)

Not in Holland, and not in France. There even the manned ticket offices refuse to accept cards unless they are chip & pin cards. This includes the ticket counters at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam and CDG airport in Paris, where there are many passengers from overseas. It's chip & pin or cash, no other options.

I have had no problems using a non-chipped Amex card with SNCF.