Or "just used to the European chip-and-PIN method". Consider how things slow down here if the computer is down and a cashier has to find the old manual imprint machine and carbon copies from the bottom of some dusty drawer.
Posted on 06/08/2011 12:38:38 PM PDT by re_tail20
At an increasing pace, countries across the globe are implementing "chip-and-PIN" credit card technology, which could create more hassles for travelers from the United States, which has no to plans to convert -- at least for now.
The so-called smart cards -- usually referred to as chip-and-PIN cards because credit cards have computer chips on them and cardholders, instead of signing for purchases, must punch four-digit PIN numbers into terminals -- have become standard in the U.K. because of their superior fraud-prevevntion abilities. Other European countries followed, and now countries in Asia, North America and South America are doing the same. Recently, major Canadian issuers announced plans to be fully converted by 2010.
It isn't a huge problem for Americans abroad yet because most terminals used by merchants in countries that use smart cards also have the capability to accept the swipe of a magnetic stripe card, and the major credit cards brands require merchants to accept nonPIN credit cards. When a magnetic stripe card is swiped, the chip-and-PIN terminal should give prompts that tell the clerk how to complete the transaction.
Travelers have found it doesn't always happen that way. For example, at certain hours at transit stations, there is no clerk -- just a machine. And sometimes, the clerks who are available are poorly trained, says Mark Bowerman, a spokesman for APACS, the U.K. trade association for payments.
"We expect to be able to use our cards in your country," Bowerman says. "And you should be able to use your cards in our country, and the overwhelming majority of time that is happening."
(Excerpt) Read more at creditcards.com ...
a couple years old, but I hadn’t seen any other post about this.
how the hell can the clerk be “poorly trained” all you have to do is swipe the card and take a signature. Not rocket science. Regardless I think the chip and pin model will be obsolete fairly soon anyway. We should embrace the Asian model of wireless cellphone transactions.
It’s remarkable how lax and unconcerned with fraud the credit card business is. If you have someone’s card you can use it just about anywhere with no hassles.
The Chip and PIN seems like a good idea...anyone know why it’s NOT in the cards (no pun intended) here?
The article says it’s because of the current “cost - benefit” ratio.
When the cost of converting all the current magnetic strip systems becomes less than the benefit of keeping them, then it will happen.
Poorly trained? Is that a way to say "Immigrant that will work cheap?"
The merchants are increasingly being forced to ask for more information on CC transactions (Security Code, Zip Code for the billing address) in order to get a reasonably low CC fee. Otherwise they are getting wacked a high percentage for the service. The card user doesn’t see it because the merchant agreement says that CC users can’t be charged a different price from cash users.
I’m betting the CC companies will eventually go this way. Nobody looks at signatures anymore.
Someone swiped my number either at a restaurant or the restaurant's card processing company. Some time later I saw five transactions for about $600 pop up at stores in Maryland. I'm just glad I checked my account that day so I could call and cancel my card.
There is surprisingly little security on the cards. If the credit card banks had to eat more of the fraudulent transactions rather than passing them back to the stores who accepted the cards in good faith then we would see more security in a hurry.
Or "just used to the European chip-and-PIN method". Consider how things slow down here if the computer is down and a cashier has to find the old manual imprint machine and carbon copies from the bottom of some dusty drawer.
Well, thank goodness we don’t plan to travel and/or spend any $ outside of the good old USA.
When my husband goes through the line at Wal-Mart or Sam’s he draws pictures on the signature line. It accepts it.
Shopping at Wal-Mart?????
Do you have liberal family members or liberal friends who will lecture you about shopping there??????
I’ve had that experience of being lectured about Wal-Mart and their business practices and importing cheap junk from China and all that.
But, the extreme liberals hate any business, so how can a good liberal find any store to shop at that doesn’t commit sins in their eyes????
I did have a friend, not lecture me on it, but tell me that she no longer shops at Wal-Mart. This was about 3 years back. She referred to them as the evil empire. It seems as though she saw a film about their evil ways, and would not go there anymore. But like you said, where do they go then? This particular person has limited funds so she can’t be shopping at higher cost mom and pops and farmer’s markets.
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