Earlier quoted context omitted.
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...
Europe's Square
91–100 of 111 posts
Re: Europe's Square
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
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
#93Earlier 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.
So, although most hardware is still technically capable to swipe, no bank is supporting it any more.
It was in response to eastern europe based organized crime, that was modifying cash machienes.
Likewise, all online bank transactions use a secondary device for authentification.
If you visit holland, and only bring a credit card, make sure you get cash at your hotel, the airport or a bank, because you cant use it anywhere else.
Re: Europe's Square
#94Earlier 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.
Re: Europe's Square
#95Earlier 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.
This is nonsense (at least in the UK and France). Yes there is preference for chip & pin but every reader I've seen supports swipe & sign still. Chips break, contacts corrode. It's there as a backup. (And yes, this totally defeats the security aspect of C&P)
In our defense: we had to, because the skimming by eastern european criminal organisations was getting out of hand. There were incidents were they completely replaced cash machienes with identically looking clones.
So, in holland, get money at a tourist bank, the airport or your hotel. Beyond those places, you cant swipe anywhere.
Re: Europe's Square
#96Earlier 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…
The skimming just got out of hand.
Re: Europe's Square
#97Earlier 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…
Re: Europe's Square
#98Earlier 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…
Re: Europe's Square
#99What's all this "sign with your finger" nonsense? With Chip & PIN cards (i.e., all our modern credit cards) you should just need the chip & PIN. Signatures are only a backup authentication. Also, signing with anything other than a pen and paper is still a disastrous user experience (see every courier's PDA system ever built)
PIN keypads have to be secure... totally secure. Passing through the iPhone isn't security. For them to include a PIN entry system, they would need to do so on the chip reader device itself (non-iPhone). The keypads for PIN entry systems always hash the PIN before it leaves the keypad... no other software gets the PIN. If you cannot offer secure PIN entry, then you cannot offer PIN entry. You can still take a signatu…
They can still screw around with that one single transaction, but they cant duplicate the card.
Its like an ssl tunnel straight from your card to your bank. The other party is just passing the encrypted one time permission slip to charge money.
It completely ended skimming here. As for unsecured devices like an iPad, the goverment mandates two way authentification. This is done by sending an authorisation code per text message, or an auxiliery device, not connected to anything, that uses the signing chip on the card, to provide the user with a one time authentification code.
Re: Europe's Square
#100What's all this "sign with your finger" nonsense? With Chip & PIN cards (i.e., all our modern credit cards) you should just need the chip & PIN. Signatures are only a backup authentication. Also, signing with anything other than a pen and paper is still a disastrous user experience (see every courier's PDA system ever built)
PIN keypads have to be secure... totally secure. Passing through the iPhone isn't security. For them to include a PIN entry system, they would need to do so on the chip reader device itself (non-iPhone). The keypads for PIN entry systems always hash the PIN before it leaves the keypad... no other software gets the PIN. If you cannot offer secure PIN entry, then you cannot offer PIN entry. You can still take a signatu…