gfunkdave

I've never seen the signs either, but I have heard that 00000 works at least sometimes if you are using a foreign card. Also I've heard 12345.

weero

I hate it that my European and Asian credit cards pushed the PINs on my without asking for consent. I had three cards stop working for me abroad, only to learn that they have 'upgraded' to a PIN system.
To be fair two sent me the PIN but I had no clue what it was for so it went => scanner then shredder.

On two of these cards, I experienced difficulties to change the PIN to something I can remember and so I canceled those cards .
I found that for German cards, the 5 digits work just fine, for my Swiss one, I pre-dial a 0 before the ZIP code. For the 6 digit Singaporean ones, I found that those work just fine ...

BigFlyer

Care to share?

I have a card from Barclaycard, which will allow use of a PIN in those situations where one is required - e.g., train station machines. However, it defaults to signature when that option is available. It is also a card with no foreign currency charge.

smc333

Or the numbers from the customer's postal code followed by a zero - e.g. if they were M5E 1W5 they would enter 5150.

That's how it works along I-90 in NY at least

lloydah

I recently used my UK chip and pin in the states but have yet to find contactless. However, I had to sign for one purchase and two weeks later had 635 dollars skimmed from my account and used in a casino in Hong Kong. Rigmarole to get it back too.

carlitos

Ok, almost all my Credit Cards are US Issued. I only keep one Credit and one Debit Card from my home country in Europe which are both Chip & Pin. I used them when traveling around Europe without a problem. Now, when I was reading the Revolut FAQs, I came along this:

Using a MetroCard Vending Machine in the United States

If you use your RevolutCard at a MetroCard Vending Machine (MVM) in the United States, you will be asked to enter your 'zip code' for verification. Please type in “99999” when prompted for a zip code. This indicates that an international card is being used and your transaction will be authorised.

https://revolut.com/faq/#where-can-i...y-revolut-card

You might also want to try it, for Foreign issued Credit Cards at US Pumps.

Grog

Ahh, but then the real embarrassment comes when the iPhone user can't use his or her phone properly and ends up unable to access Apple at the terminal. (iOS Wallet will normally open on its own, but it's been known not to, as well.)

Of course, at that point they wish they would've just poked and signed.

kb9522

What? How did we arrive to that conclusion?

I do like using Apple/Android pay when I can though... I find it to be more convenient, since I usually have a phone at hand.

livebetter_travelmore

As you discovered, or perhaps already knew, chip-and-pin (aka EMV) cards may have a set of authentication methods -- not just one. Further, the technology provides that the methods can be priority ordered. Ideally if one is obtaining a "real" chip-and-pin, then seeking one where the first -- i.e. highest priority -- authentication method is pin is the most desirable. Complicating it a little further, there's the ability to authenticate just directly between the card and terminal (aka "offline") as well as from the card through the terminal over some communications channel to your card provider's system (aka "online"). This Google docs spreadsheet lists a range of cards including their authentication method(s) (in order), annual fees (if any), whether the card has a foreign exchange fee, and more:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...5Hk/edit#gid=0

The list is far from exhaustive, and just taking a look at it recently it appears to me that it has not been updated in a while. I have an "Odyssey Rewards" MasterCard from First Tech federal credit union: https://www.firsttechfed.com/Credit-...dyssey-Rewards. It uses pin as -- unsure if it's online or offline -- as its first authentication method instead of signature which is employed first by most other US cards. First Tech is not listed at all on the aforementioned google docs spreadsheet. Like all credit unions, there are member qualifications to join. Anecdotally, it seems to me that credit unions were the first and most common type of financial institution in the US to embrace pin. Some credit unions provide for an alternative means to join if you don't meet the "standard" qualifications, but certainly not all do.

EDIT: The First Tech Odyssey Rewards MasterCard is also fully supported on Apple Pay which I have successfully used from Canada to Australia. Another technical detail: if one swaps out their SIM card in their iPhone for another -- say, you want to obtain a pre-paid SIM in another country to avoid hideously high international roaming -- I can verify that Apple Pay continues to operate just fine with the registered credit cards; i.e. I didn't have to jump through any hoops re-authorizing anything when swapping the SIM. I learned this from my own personal experience. I wasn't able to find this info published anywhere when I was in that situation.

IluvSQ

So for Canadian cards being used at US gas stations, we now have the following proposals:
1) 00000
2) 99999
3) 12345
4) 3 digits from postal code plus 00
5) 3 digits from postal code plus 0.

How many tries before the card is swallowed by the machine?
Does anyone have a DEFINITIVE answer?

invisible

I don't understand what is the point of the posting but above is feature, not a bug.

For paying at gas stations with international card - go to the counter - it is just additional 20 steps. I've never had a problem to pay with chip and signature/chip and pin card at US gas station pump.
However other way around - when you have only chip and signature or not chip at all would be a serious problem at automated pumps and train ticket machines. I had this problem at NZ and Germany.

livebetter_travelmore

A friend has an EMV card and the first authentication method is signature; i.e. chip-and-signature. However, it also supports pin as well as a secondary (or maybe third?) method. On some automated machines like train ticket booths it will "skip" the signature method and prompt for pin, functioning properly. However, on others, it would just reject the card altogether not even offering the ability to enter a pin. And, yet on another, it did allow for the entry of a pin, but would fail the transaction. Yeah, it's probably a software problem on the machine, but it just highlights the value of having an EMV card where pin is the first authentication method.

Kagehitokiri

i have had staff make comments about chip and signature. when taking payment outside US. was not about me, but questioning why it is a thing. and thinking it is inferior to chip and pin.

dont US chip credit card issuers give PIN on request ? ah, interesting may not solve problem, thanks livebetter_travelmore

what about RFID contactless ?

stolen from chip? so much for that...

GUWonder

.... science classes in American public high schools have already foisted the metric system on us.

I've used mobilepay/contactless systems to minimize or avoid bank card surcharges charged by some vendors. For example, in Denmark, foreign credit cards are charged a surcharge while debit cards may be charged a lower/no fee; and yet ApplePay with my US bank cards works just fine to get around some of those Danish card processing fees.

BigFlyer

The US based Barclay Card is a signature priority type - it will operate as Chip & Signature unless there is no signature option - at which point it will authenticate with PIN. As described on the website:

"The AAdvantage® Aviator™ Red Mastercard® is a chip-and-signature card with PIN capability for use at unattended terminals - offering U.S. cardmembers optimal acceptance and convenience when traveling internationally."

Barclays is probably an easier option than seeking out an obscure credit union, although it would be nice to have a PIN priority card.

I can confirm that Android pay also continues to work when you change SIM cards.