Comments on: 7 credit card rules in Europe: U.S. magnetic strip vs. smart chip — both should work

By: Sean Taylor

Sean Taylor — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:50:00 +0000

As of December 1st, 2011 you will no longer be able to use a magnetic strip in Norway. Period. I am living in Norway for the year and we had no trouble until this week when they began shutting down the magnetic strip usage, with it completely shut down on 12/1. The advice above is getting outdated, at least for this country.

By: travelgal

travelgal — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 21:04:00 +0000

I was in Holland in winter 2010 and found numerous ATMs around the country that, (to my horror!), COULD NOT connect using a Mastercard ATM/debit card. I went to the money exchange and they were able to use my card, thank god! I am very nervous about it now and plan to keep large sums of cash on hand, (i know, not the greatest plan either), and talk to my bank and other banks about getting a VISA ATM card. I NEVER once had trouble in Holland or elsewhere with the VISA ATM magnetic swipe card. Thanks for everyone’s posts below!

By: Sam Conte

Sam Conte — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 03:53:00 +0000

I actually just returned from Amsterdam a few days ago. Almost everywhere we went the staff would inform us that their machines would only accept Dutch debit cards. However, all their machines DO HAVE a swipe slot, and every time we asked them to please try our cards, they worked fine, and we did this more than a dozen times. They just weren’t familiar with using the swipe method. Additionally every automated train machine accepted our cards, and every ATM as well.

Finally, we also hit up Paris, and our cards were accepted everywhere except at a few of the older automated Metro station machines. But in that case just go to the attendant and no problems!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 19:29:00 +0000

I’ve had issues using a US card in Europe too. Traveling to Norway in 2009 several places (grocery and other stores) only accept cards with smart chips and PIN. ATM withdrawals from my debit card always worked though. Hotels and gas stations accepted the magnet strip still.

The Netherlands is a credit card/tourist nightmare though! Almost everywhere they basically only accept Dutch cards! A wonderful surprise when trying to pay a 300 euro meal.. We had to just make large cash withdrawals from ATMs and use that. And the people are rude, but otherwise a lovely country:)

Are there even any US banks that issue smart chip cards? Why don’t they?

By: Brett Kilhenny

Brett Kilhenny — Sat, 14 May 2011 05:45:00 +0000

The times are a changing! I am here now as an Expat in Germany and the game has changed over the past week – it is getting very difficult to use your ATM card, especially in smaller cities and towns. I am trying now to find a US bank with smart chip cards – not easy! BTW – today’s date is may 14, 2011

By: Robert Ponterio

Robert Ponterio — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 11:50:10 +0000

I spend summer in France and use various US credit cards (magnetic strip only), except in those automatic machines that accept only smart cards. However, this year I am finding that a significant number of times when I swipe my card, it doesn’t work. Merchants in France have been telling me that they see this problem more & more. IOW The machines are supposed to accept the magnetic strip cards, but they don’t work or in some cases they work after 4-5 tries. These were clerks who knew how to use the machines, and when they couldn’t make it work, I tried myself. I now try to have cash on hand as a backup. If the problem keeps getting worse, I will really need a card with a chip, even for the vast majority of machines that do, theoretically, work with a US card.

By: Ryan James

Ryan James — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:05:50 +0000

The US and Australia may be easy to open bank accounts in, but in Hungary as well as much of Europe, you will need a Visa, not the credit card, but an official paper stating you are legal here for at least a year. Generally, a tourist Visa will not work. You need to have accountability here in Europe as you would at home regarding taxes and other economic legal fees that are associated with banking. Many of those laws are different than what Americans are used to. As an Ex-Pat American who authors the Frommer’s “Budapest & the Best of Hungary” 7th and 8th editions, I know from whence I speak.

By: laura townsend elion

laura townsend elion — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:21:22 +0000

Open an account at Citibank. I’m employed by an international humantarian agency. We go everywhere, and there seems to be at least one Citibank in every country, even the most remote, and usually many more.

I originally opened my accont specifically to ‘send’ money to my brother in Austraila (had his name on the account down there, and this is easier to accomplish by sending or faxing signature cards then you think), but it has been a boon to my international travels, esp. since you get ‘customer’ treatment everywhere as opposed to ‘foreign bank’ treatment.

By: Graham

Graham — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 17:26:32 +0000

Let me tell you a story about life here in the UK. Not long before chip and pin was introduced here we were bombarded with messages about it which boiled down to “no chip and pin, no use, no excuses”.

I was in a local retailer and he reiterated this to me so I asked him “what will you do if someone tries to make a purchase and presents a card without a chip – for instance an American?” He looked a bit nonplussed so I suggested he contacted his card processor and ask.

Next time I saw him he thanked me and said he now knew what to do but wondered why he had had to ask rather than being told. All these years on, I reckon there are still people who think that chip and pin is the only way.

Now, it works the other way round as well. In Hong Kong in January 2009 my chip and pin card was accepted and the pin worked but they absolutely insisted I sign as well! And in Montreal in 2006 a sales assistant was flumoxed when she swiped my card and it told her to insert it. I had to conduct a quick class in the workings of chip and pin!

And don’t talk to me about New Zealand; in two months the same card was accepted chip and pin, swipe and pin and swipe and sign on multiple occasions. At first I thought it was down to the card processor but that was disproved so I began to wonder about certain machines and in the end I gave up and went with the flow.

The good news is that the machines are getting cleverer and prompting the users and provided the users follow the prompts it shouldn’t matter whether your card has a chip or not.

By: klm

klm — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 21:21:10 +0000

I’ve never had a problem using my American Visa card in Poland. And sometimes my local cards with smart chips get swiped instead of inserted!
On the other hand, make sure you have a MasterCard in Germany. I’ve had problems trying to pay at smaller shops and Lidl, discovering too late that they don’t take Visa. (Larger hotels will, of course.)