URGENT (but probably stupid) ATM question

[eaglewatchers]

Important question that my TA cannot answer, and we leave in 9 days!

 

Rick Steves site says MAG STRIPE debit cards (NO CHIP) will work in European ATMs-- as in the ports on Viking Homelands. PLEASE TELL ME if you have been successful with a MAG STRIPE ATM card at Viking Homelands ports.

 

We will not be using an ATM in SPB.

 

We have chip credit cards, so are fine with those.

 

If we need CHIP debit/ATM cards, I need to go beg a banker for a fast issue of new cards!!

 

Thanks,

[id4elizabeth]

You're fine with Mag Stripe DEBIT cards. We brought two of them from different banks "just in case". We had no problems anywhere, and we used them everywhere in almost every country on our 50-day trip. Even St Pete (there's an ATM right inside the port terminal.

 

We had gone to great trouble getting true Chip and PIN credit cards, but interestingly, when we used them, they never asked for our PIN - but we had to sign the slip, just like here.

 

But back to your question, no problem with your mag stripe DEBIT card. (We did not try CREDIT cards at an ATM, so can't tell you whether those work.)

[eaglewatchers]

You're fine with Mag Stripe DEBIT cards. We brought two of them from different banks "just in case". We had no problems anywhere, and we used them everywhere in almost every country on our 50-day trip. Even St Pete (there's an ATM right inside the port terminal.

 

We had gone to great trouble getting true Chip and PIN credit cards, but interestingly, when we used them, they never asked for our PIN - but we had to sign the slip, just like here.

 

But back to your question, no problem with your mag stripe DEBIT card. (We did not try CREDIT cards at an ATM, so can't tell you whether those work.)

 

id4elizabeth,

Thank you so much! You helped us AND our TA who was double checking.

 

Your many posts have been informative and helpful to many, I am sure.

[Traveler103]

Important question that my TA cannot answer, and we leave in 9 days!

 

Rick Steves site says MAG STRIPE debit cards (NO CHIP) will work in European ATMs-- as in the ports on Viking Homelands. PLEASE TELL ME if you have been successful with a MAG STRIPE ATM card at Viking Homelands ports.

 

We will not be using an ATM in SPB.

 

We have chip credit cards, so are fine with those.

 

If we need CHIP debit/ATM cards, I need to go beg a banker for a fast issue of new cards!!

 

Thanks,

 

We just got off the Stockholm-Bergen cruise (5/30 embark) and had no problem with mag-stripe ATM cards. Most merchants accepted credit cards - chip type work but you have to sign for them. Be aware that our cruise was 8 countries and 6 currencies. The grandkids got a bunch of foreign coins for their collections.

[RDC1]

You're fine with Mag Stripe DEBIT cards. We brought two of them from different banks "just in case". We had no problems anywhere, and we used them everywhere in almost every country on our 50-day trip. Even St Pete (there's an ATM right inside the port terminal.

 

We had gone to great trouble getting true Chip and PIN credit cards, but interestingly, when we used them, they never asked for our PIN - but we had to sign the slip, just like here.

 

But back to your question, no problem with your mag stripe DEBIT card. (We did not try CREDIT cards at an ATM, so can't tell you whether those work.)

 

Are you sure that you have true Chip and Pin cards? Almost all of the chip cards in the US are Chip and Sign. If you have a true chip and pin you would have to input your pin number into the machine. If you are being asked to sign then the card is showing as a chip and sign.

 

when I use my Wells Fargo card it required the pin, when I used my United CC from Chase I had to sign. Wells Fargo is true chip and pin, while United is Chip and Sign.

 

The only real place where it is important is in unmanned kiosks such as train stations where the cards must be chip and pin.

 

The only major banks with a true chip and pin in the US is Barclay and Wells Fargo. The Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard is true chip and pin, as is the Wells Fargo Visa Signature Card. There are also some credit unions issuing true chip and pin, including Andrews Federal Credit Union, Wings Financial Credit Union and United Nations Federal Credit Union.

Edited July 4, 2015 by RDC1

[id4elizabeth]

We have the Andrews Credit Union and Navy Federal cards which are supposed to be Chip & PIN. Both assured us they were, and the NFCU one took forever to get and says "World Elite Mastercard" on it. Took many follow-up phone calls and literally months because NFCU said this was a new card for them (Chip & PIN).

 

We had had lots of trouble the year before on toll roads with unmanned booths in France in our rental car, driving across the country. That's why we were determined to get true Chip & Pin cards this year. But on this trip this year we never went to any kind of automated kiosk so we don't know for sure if they would work as Chip & PINs. The good news is that both Chip cards worked this year - just with a signature!

[RDC1]

Interesting. My Chip and Pin always requested the pin when I used it in Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands (always when inserted in the CC machines).

[id4elizabeth]

Then my guess is that we did not get real Chip & PIN cards despite what the banks told us....arghh!

[OneBag]

Then my guess is that we did not get real Chip & PIN cards despite what the banks told us....arghh!

 

You might have. The thing is, most U.S. "true" chip & PIN cards default to signature verification and only if that doesn't work (at an unmanned kiosk, for example) will it next default to PIN verification. So you end up signing almost everywhere but your card will work as PIN if necessary. (It's good to carry a pen.) So they are "true" c&p in the sense that they will work that way but only if signature verification fails. Some credit cards with an EMV chip and a PIN allow signature verification only and the PIN is only provided to get cash from an ATM (don't do it $$$). Very few U.S. credit cards are real, true chip & PIN in the sense that they default to PIN verification. We've in Scandinavia now and have had no problems in Denmark, Sweden or Norway with our "defaults to signature first, then PIN) cards. I understand that if we're to go far off the beaten trail it could be an issue, but no one on a Viking cruise will be able to stray that far.

[RDC1]

You might have. The thing is, most U.S. "true" chip & PIN cards default to signature verification and only if that doesn't work (at an unmanned kiosk, for example) will it next default to PIN verification. So you end up signing almost everywhere but your card will work as PIN if necessary. (It's good to carry a pen.) So they are "true" c&p in the sense that they will work that way but only if signature verification fails. Some credit cards with an EMV chip and a PIN allow signature verification only and the PIN is only provided to get cash from an ATM (don't do it $$$). Very few U.S. credit cards are real, true chip & PIN in the sense that they default to PIN verification. We've in Scandinavia now and have had no problems in Denmark, Sweden or Norway with our "defaults to signature first, then PIN) cards. I understand that if we're to go far off the beaten trail it could be an issue, but no one on a Viking cruise will be able to stray that far.

 

I was told that a chip and pin will default to pin first and will go signature if there is an issue with communications and validation. Now that might just be the one I was carrying. I have run across an article that also say that many US ones do default to signature first. I guess the only way to find out for sure is to try them in a place where signature is not an option (kiosks). Your issuing company might be able confirm the priority for your specific card.

 

I must say that I found having it default to pin first worked smoother in Europe, compared to having to sign.

Edited July 5, 2015 by RDC1

[OneBag]

I was told that a chip and pin will default to pin first and will go signature if there is an issue with communications and validation. Now that might just be the one I was carrying. I have run across an article that also say that many US ones do default to signature first. I guess the only way to find out for sure is to try them in a place where signature is not an option (kiosks). Your issuing company might be able confirm the priority for your specific card.

 

I must say that I found having it default to pin first worked smoother in Europe, compared to having to sign.

 

Signing is inconvenient and defeats the whole purpose of the added security of needing to use a PIN with the card. Nobody here in Scandinavia has ever once even glanced at my name or signature, never mind asked for ID. So truly anybody can use the card. Our options in the U.S. are improving but still limited. This spreadsheet is pretty handy when card shopping or trying to figure out how our cards work: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ani-u3tGk5hedGRvcE1ELVg5UmlGZk01SHZvTUMxdUE