4 Digit Pin Number for ATM'S
 

Please remember in Europe to access your ATM card it must have a 4 digit pin #. It can be a real drag if you do not change it in the states or your screwed!!! Europe hates Travellers cheques!!!<BR>Tams

Thanks for posting the reminder for others. Actually both of my ATM cards are only accepts 4 digits maximum since I opened the accounts many years ago. That was good because I didn't have to change anything.

Just returned from Europe. You are so right about the 4 digit #. I saw alot of tourists stranded at the ATM'S.. You think that your card works worldwide and usually it does but alot of banks allow you to have up to 6 numbers. Also, Travellers checks are not the way to go at all. Thanks so much for the posting!

I have 5 and the only places in Europe have had a problem are Russia and the Ukraine (and parts of the Eastern Balkans, but that is a different story)!<BR><BR>5 works fine throughout western and central Europe. 6 can be a problem.

Forget traveler's check's. My sister's bank here in Spokane persuaded her to get &quot;Euro traveler's checks,&quot; telling her they'd be cheaper than what we'd get at ATMs. Wrong. We got good rates and low charges at the ATM's but had problems with the Euro traveler's checks.<BR>

it's 4 numbers not 5!!!! Unless you have a state of the art card.

Where in Europe have you had problems using a card with a 5-digit PIN, Sharon? Was it isolated machines, or all witin a certain city or country or area? <BR><BR>I'm not sure why a &quot;state-of-the-art card&quot; would make a difference, as the issue seems to be how many bytes the ATM machine can accept. Perhaps some older machines can still accept four bytes only, but most in the EU can accept 5 and many even 6. I've also used my card, with 5-byte PIN, in the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Hungary without a problem. <BR><BR>I keep seeing people on this board insisting on 4-byte PINS. Before my first extended trip to Europe, I asked my bank to change my PIN from 5 to 4 bytes and they were not able to do so. My only option was to change banks. I didn't bother and, as I said, I had no problems, but the whole issue caused me a lot of unnecessary anxiety. Unless I have been preternaturally lucky, there's no reason to worry about travel to most of Europe if one's card has a 5-byte PIN.<BR><BR>So I just wonder if those of you who post here saying 4-byte PINS are a requirement have tried RECENTLY to use a card with a 5-byte PIN and had much of a problem.... and if so, where. (I'm looking for firsthand experiences, not speculation.)

Totally agree with Chris. I asked my bank to change my pin to 4 digits and they ASSURED me I could just enter the first 4 of my 5 digits in Europe. Well last March in Paris I tried that and it wouldn't work so I tried all 5 and it WORKED. Used my card on that trip to France and Belgium and then this summer all over Germany, Austria, Italy and France. Never a problem. So these people who keep insisting you have to have 4 digits must be talking about several years ago. Occassionally any ATM will fail to work. In Italy once my husbands card would not work, I tried mine in the same machine (same account, same pin for that matter) and mine worked. His worked fine the next time he tried it.

Hi<BR> I have been convinced that I should depend on my ATM card instead of TC's.<BR><BR> I went to the Mastercard site to find out if my card could be used in the Italian cities I will be visiting. They were no help. My bank (a small one) hasn't a clue.<BR><BR> Are there ATM's that accept Cirrus near the train stations in Florence, Venice, Naples, and Sorrento?<BR><BR> Thanks for the help.