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Europe's Square

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Re: Europe's Square

#81

Post by rmc »

com wrote: post #72
rmc wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heads up, If you're an American going to Europe, regular swipe only credit cards won't work as often here. Nearly all point-of-sale credit card machines require chip & pin. Or you'll wind up like some tourists in my local supermarket unable to use their credit card.

Heads up, if you're an American going to Europe, be aware that attitudes to living on credit or via credit cards are at times very different. In Belgium and the Netherlands, it's not usual to see supermarkets even taking credit cards, and some restaurants (!) don't either. This is changing, but slowly.

Here in Ireland credit cards about very commonly accepted in many shops, supermarkets and restaurants.

Re: Europe's Square

#82

Post by yesbabyyes »

danellis wrote: post #73
antr wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess that checking the signature is a US thing, in the UK, Switzerland and Spain if you don't pay with a chip & pin card they ask for ID, and that works pretty fine security wise.

In my experience, checking the signature just doesn't happen in the US. In fact, most of the time you seem to be given your card back before you even give them the signed receipt. Checking the signature was the norm in the UK before chip-and-PIN.

> Checking the signature was the norm in the UK before chip-and-PIN.

Yeah, I think it was in the UK they wanted me to sign the card, since I hadn't done it already. This was before chip-and-PIN. Oh well...

Re: Europe's Square

#83

Post by objclxt »

com wrote: post #72
rmc wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heads up, If you're an American going to Europe, regular swipe only credit cards won't work as often here. Nearly all point-of-sale credit card machines require chip & pin. Or you'll wind up like some tourists in my local supermarket unable to use their credit card.

Heads up, if you're an American going to Europe, be aware that attitudes to living on credit or via credit cards are at times very different. In Belgium and the Netherlands, it's not usual to see supermarkets even taking credit cards, and some restaurants (!) don't either. This is changing, but slowly.

Conversely, good luck buying gas from an automatic pump if you're in the US and paying with a European card. In the absence of a PIN they'll ask for a ZIP code, which you don't have.

Re: Europe's Square

#84

Post by objclxt »

nemesisj wrote: post #74
objclxt wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A good example of this is the Apple Stores in Europe: like in the US, staff use iPods to take orders and checkout. The difference is when it comes to payment: instead of swiping the credit card and signing on the iPod screen, transaction details are wirelessly sent to one of many Chip & PIN readers around the store, and you then complete your purchase there.

This isn't how it works in the UK. Here, staff inputs the order details, etc. on the iphone which is in a special case with a chip & pin reader and a keypad on the back. You insert your card, turn the iphone over, and enter your pin on the physical keypad which ostensibly separately transmits the transaction to the processor. Seems like a really nice solution and is something these guys should be able to leverage.

Sounds cool...I guess that's a new VeriFone piece of tech. It has been a while since I went into an Apple Store, they certainly used to use separate terminals.

Re: Europe's Square

#85

Post by objclxt »

spydre100 wrote: post #70
aes256 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lack of Chip and PIN support is going to be a major turn-off in much of the European market...

I disagree. These systems will just take over as by design they are like a Trojan horse. Sure i think that Europeans are less easy going than their us counterparts, none the same I think these apps will take off with or without a pin. Furthermore once you have signed and paid once your card details are securely stored and their is no need to use it ever again. Just like purchasing on-line you can just use a consumer…

You need to bear in mind that in most of Europe there was a large advertising campaign when Chip & PIN was introduced, along the lines of "signatures are very insecure, so we're introducing Chip & PIN". So there may well be some resistance from users who have been educated to understand that at point-of-sale they should be using PINs. There may well be people put-off with signing rather than using a PIN.

Re: Europe's Square

#86

Post by buro9 »

objclxt wrote: post #84
nemesisj wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't how it works in the UK. Here, staff inputs the order details, etc. on the iphone which is in a special case with a chip & pin reader and a keypad on the back. You insert your card, turn the iphone over, and enter your pin on the physical keypad which ostensibly separately transmits the transaction to the processor. Seems like a really nice solution and is something these guys should be able to leverage.

Sounds cool...I guess that's a new VeriFone piece of tech. It has been a while since I went into an Apple Store, they certainly used to use separate terminals.

http://www.verifone.com/payware-mobile-enterprise/solutions/...

Re: Europe's Square

#87

Post by tiagotm »

objclxt wrote: post #84
nemesisj wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't how it works in the UK. Here, staff inputs the order details, etc. on the iphone which is in a special case with a chip & pin reader and a keypad on the back. You insert your card, turn the iphone over, and enter your pin on the physical keypad which ostensibly separately transmits the transaction to the processor. Seems like a really nice solution and is something these guys should be able to leverage.

Sounds cool...I guess that's a new VeriFone piece of tech. It has been a while since I went into an Apple Store, they certainly used to use separate terminals.

In fact, I believe Apple Store in Europe (at least in France) uses this: http://www.ingenico.com/en/0/ismp_gtygmj7t.html

Re: Europe's Square

#88

Post by JonnieCache »

ErrantX wrote: post #39
rmc wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heads up, If you're an American going to Europe, regular swipe only credit cards won't work as often here. Nearly all point-of-sale credit card machines require chip & pin. Or you'll wind up like some tourists in my local supermarket unable to use their credit card.

Whilst many places often refuse to swipe any more (which I suppose is their prerogative) it does actually work. If the chip/pin reader has the swipe slot at the top then it will work. Tesco don't have the swipe slot, and they now train till staff to say they can't swipe cards. But it does work on the till itself (I know this because when a friend visited we made the poor till attendant try it :)). EDIT: also, interes…

Increasingly, most shops do not offer the ability to swipe/sign. I think it is their right to refuse to do so.

Re: Europe's Square

#89

Post by julian_t »

objclxt wrote: post #83
com wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heads up, if you're an American going to Europe, be aware that attitudes to living on credit or via credit cards are at times very different. In Belgium and the Netherlands, it's not usual to see supermarkets even taking credit cards, and some restaurants (!) don't either. This is changing, but slowly.

Conversely, good luck buying gas from an automatic pump if you're in the US and paying with a European card. In the absence of a PIN they'll ask for a ZIP code, which you don't have.

As a Brit in NY, when I swipe my UK card to by a Metro pass I'm asked for my ZIP code. I just put in the ZIP code of my apartment and have never had any trouble. A teller at the bank told me that since it isn't a US card they ignore it anyway...

Re: Europe's Square

#90

Post by rsynnott »

antr wrote: post #62
rmc wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heads up, If you're an American going to Europe, regular swipe only credit cards won't work as often here. Nearly all point-of-sale credit card machines require chip & pin. Or you'll wind up like some tourists in my local supermarket unable to use their credit card.

that ain't true. My Visa is swipe, and my Amex chip. All places accept both swipe and chip & pin, no matter how small the place is. Just make sure that if you swipe you have ID w/ photo with you.

Certainly _all_ don't. New equipment distributed in Ireland, particularly to smaller businesses, often don't have swipe readers at all.
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