Why Your Credit Card Might Be Useless Overseas
Filed in archive Credit by Justin McHenry on August 21, 2008
The headline might be a bit dramatic, but it's true that more and more merchants in Europe and elsewhere will not accept credit cards without the "Chip and PIN" system —- an embedded chip in the Card along with a PIN number (similar to that you are probably accustomed to with your ATM card).
You, however, don't have a PIN associated with your credit card, do you? Unfortunately, as this L.A. Times article reports, it's not an easy problem to fix:
So what do you do? Well, one way to be sure you always can get by is if your bank offers a combination ATM / debit card with the Visa or MasterCard logo. That has a PIN, so you're OK. But of course this means the money will come straight out of your checking account, so you'd better have enough in there to cover your purchases. Of course, that's not really credit anymore. It's also a bit less less safe, in that it's harder to get your money back if a merchant stiffs you in some way.
The Times article also suggests that some merchants will let you get by if you also have a picture ID, although this doesn't help you if you're trying to purchase something via an automated machine that isn't staffed by humans.
It's certainly not impossible to get by with your American credit card, but it's becoming more work to do so, so take this into consideration if you're hitting Europe any time soon.
You, however, don't have a PIN associated with your credit card, do you? Unfortunately, as this L.A. Times article reports, it's not an easy problem to fix:
Here's the catch: Americans cannot get such a card through U.S. card issuers.
So what do you do? Well, one way to be sure you always can get by is if your bank offers a combination ATM / debit card with the Visa or MasterCard logo. That has a PIN, so you're OK. But of course this means the money will come straight out of your checking account, so you'd better have enough in there to cover your purchases. Of course, that's not really credit anymore. It's also a bit less less safe, in that it's harder to get your money back if a merchant stiffs you in some way.
The Times article also suggests that some merchants will let you get by if you also have a picture ID, although this doesn't help you if you're trying to purchase something via an automated machine that isn't staffed by humans.
It's certainly not impossible to get by with your American credit card, but it's becoming more work to do so, so take this into consideration if you're hitting Europe any time soon.
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