American debit cards without necessary "chip" technology...
 

Please forgive me if I am over-looking 100 threads about this. I am on my phone and am not able to search the forum.

I am having trouble finding a bank with a debit card with the "chip" that is needed to use in Europe. Apparently it will not be required in the US debit cards until the fall, which does me no good for my spring travels. The only one I have talked to that has it is Bank of America... Does anyone have any other recommendations or is Bank of America the route to go?

USAA.

Look at the Barclays Arrival Plus card. Also, It's a credit card though; not a debit card.

Yes, I got the Bank of America Visa card...travel rewards...before going October to Spain.

This thread is tagged "Italy." Italy is not a country where the CHIP usage is common neither for credit cards nor for a debit card. I have not encountered situation in Italy where CHIP was needed.

If you are going to France, Scandinavia, Netherlands, etc, it is a different story.

Debit/ATM cards used in Europe do NOT need chip to work. Few, if any, US DEBIT/ATM cards have them.

I have used a variety of these cards from USAA, Cap One, Andrew FCU, without chip and they have worked flawlessly in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic.

>>American debit cards without necessary "chip" technology…<<

I think you are confused (not surprising since there are so many conflicting posts here and articles in the media. Credits cards are a different issue than debit cards.

>>I am having trouble finding a bank with a debit card with the "chip" that is needed to use in Europe.<<

An ATM/debit card doesn't need a chip. And credit cards really only need them for some automated ticket machines/toll booths etc.

janisj nailed it.

You do not need a card with a chip when it comes to an ATM card. Except for a few situations, even a chipless credit card works in Europe.

I'd disagree about Italy. I've certainly used it in Venice and Rome, even in small supermarkets.
You can still use the old fashioned credit cards, but I feel safer using chip and pin

You might also spare some consideration for what it will cost you to use any kind of plastic abroad like you do back in America. Many, perhaps most, credit and debit cards impose a foreign-currency fee for each transaction. Those can add up fast if you are using them for every small purchase. Better, financially, to extract a substantial amount of the local money from a bank machine and use the cash for all but the biggest buys. Old-fashioned, maybe, but cheaper, and easier too.

To withdraw cash from a cash machine (ATM) does not require a debit card with a chip.

To make a purchase with either a debit card (with Visa or MC logo) or credit card if you are dealing with a human (as in a restaurant or shop) does not require a chip.

To purchase something from an unmanned vendor - a train ticket from a kiosk, gas from an unmanned pump, toll both, etc. DOES require a chip, including in Italy, as least as of last summer. I was behind a woman with a card without a chip at Termini station in Rome and she was unable to use it, I had no problem with my chip card.

If you are in the Netherlands you do not need a chip to withdraw money from an ATM.
For any other transaction with a debit/ATM card a chip is needed. POS machines in the Netherlands do not allow for cards being swiped.
This is also true for many shops and restaurants which accept credit cards since they use the same POS machine.

Exceptions: Sometimes even a credit chip card will fail and you are SOL because it is an unmanned situation (fuel pump, toll booth, metro kiosk). Sometimes a shop owner will insist on a chip card. Both happened to us. In the end, going to the hassle of getting a chip card may only provide a small convenience for the trip because you will still not be covered in every situation.

Perhaps of greater import is getting a credit card that does not charge foreign transaction fees, and getting an ATM card that does not charge % and lump sum fees. Capital One is one bank that provides both.

Andrews Federal Credit Union has true Chip and PIN credit cards with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee. Their ATM card is just ATM [no Visa or Mcard logo, so can't be used for purchases] and it is also fee free.

I have used both extensively in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic in the past year with no problems.

The credit card has worked this past year in all toll booths in southern France [there had been issues in 2013] at unmanned gas stations; at train kiosks.

I recall that even Europeans have posted saying that they can have their chip and pin cards refused, so I don't think there's such a thing as a bulletproof credit card for Europe.

With regard to credit card use abroad, American Express is now offering a card with a chip. A VISA agent told me they were implementing the chip technology but it would not be available until sometime in 2015.

We don't use our cards for debit purposes, but in the event our VISA card is refused for lack of a chip, a manual transaction saves the day.

Just don't forget to notify whichever company you use about a vacation schedule.

Thank you for your responses, and advice. A couple things...
I tagged Italy because that is where I am traveling too. We have a connection in Germany where I also may use the ATM. To take out cash ONLY.
When talking to both banks I am a member at they completely shut me down and sai that "our debit cards will not work in Europe with out the chip" then I started calling around and was giving the same info from several other banks, most of them referring me to Bank of America, which confirmed that they did have it. I don't want to assume my card I have will work then be stuck when I get over there.
I have been told that ATM is the best way to access (take out) cash for hotels, etc. please if this is incorrect set me straight. I need all the help I can get! I am set in the credit department, I have talk to my company and they are very helpful. I just wanted the easiest way to access cash with the lowest fees.

What banks do you currently use? That might help with answers.

I set up accounts with both Cap One and Andrews for the express purpose of having at least 2 accounts for Cash withdrawals with no fees [beside standard exchange rate conversion, which all cards will have as you are taking out foreign currency, it must be converted to US $]. IT is a good idea to have more than one account; lest an card get "eaten" by ATM or have it compromised in other ways.

Also, be aware, that some ATM's ask if you want the amount converted to US $ at the ATM. That is known as Dynamic Currency Conversion and you DO NOT want to choose this option. ALWAYS withdraw local currency!!

tom_mn, we have used our cards through Europe, as have our friends and family, not only with Dutch, but British, Spanish and German cards and have never had a card refused because of the chip.
The only time we have ever had a problem was when the magnetic strip was corrupted on an ATM card. Since we carry multiple cards that never proved to be a real problem.

The banks are giving you usual run arounds. They don't know the answer, so they read legally safe (but useless to you) scripts approved by their attorneys hoping you go away.

Getting cash at ATM has not required PIN, even in CHIP-centric Netherlands, Scandinavia, etc.

I have used ATM with magnetic strip only cards last year in Netherlands, Germany, and Italy.

For credit cards, for Italy, no place required using a Chipped credit card.

The credit card story would be different for Netherlands. But I suspect the banks are giving you one answer fits all legally safe replies to you.

"Getting cash at ATM has not required PIN"

Although I feel like I am beating a dead horse... ATM/DEBIT cards DO require use of PIN to get cash, no matter where you make withdrawal.

[I post this for travelers who have little international experience and may read things literally as they are written. ]

>><i>When talking to both banks I am a member at they completely shut me down and sai that "our debit cards will not work in Europe with out the chip" then I started calling around and was giving the same info from several other banks . . . </i><<

One thing you will soon learn (actually you've already learned it) . . . almost NO US bank customer service or local branch employees know anything at all about foreign travel. They almost ALL blow smoke and make it up as they go. In fact my local branch manager asked ME (just a customer) to explain to her staff about ATM cards use in Europe and the UK. They had a staff meeting and I gave them the quick and dirty lecture.

I have accounts in 4 banks/credit union and one (ONE!) managed to give out accurate info/advice.

You would not believe some of the fiction - one actually said if you try to use a non chip ATM card the machine will 'eat it'.

So -- Ignore everything you've heard.

Here is my experience and another, the first 2 posts, for what it's worth.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-uk-france.cfm

<i>For any other transaction with a debit/ATM card a chip is needed</i>

Not my experience. The ticket machines to add cash to my V-chip card accepted my chipless debit/ATM. And although not according to the regulations, the ticket vendor in the Central station in Amsterdam was willing to accept my chipless credit card--but I would not count on it.

>> Getting cash at ATM has not required PIN, even in CHIP-centric Netherlands, Scandinavia, etc. >>

I think Greg meant "Getting cash at ATM has not required CHIP, even in CHIP-centric Netherlands, Scandinavia, etc. " IME you need a PIN to get cash from a debit card.

The other issue is how much you pay to get cash from an ATM: transaction fee, conversion fee, DCC. Bank of America is notorious for charging both a transaction fee (base charge for each withdrawal) and a conversion fee (percentage over the interbank rate). To the OP, check out credit unions. I have 2 credit union accounts. Neither charges a transaction fee and both charge only 1% over the interbank conversion rate.

Actually, I posted above in Paris before the end of the trip. In Paris we used the chip card and needed the pin at the metro kiosks, and the only choices there are coins and chip and pin credit cards, usually no person. I can't imagine buying 5 tickets to CDG with coins at one of these kiosks, that's about 50 euros.

Since the chip and pin card had a 1% foreign transaction fee (USAA) we avoided using it.

Hopefully the poster has got the message that ATMs do not require chip cards.

I think we will all have chip cards by this summer anyway, unless there has been some postponement of the October deadline.

Why would someone need to buy five tickets to CDG? There are plenty of metro stations that do have people working at them, many of them have people there during the day. I usually stay right next to Raspail metro which is a fairly small one, and they have someone there most of the day. And there are machines that take notes, not just coins, also, at least in the train/RER/metro stations. There are some just inside the door of gare Montparnasse, for example. This isn't a dire situation for people who plan ahead (ie don't wait until the last minute to buy your ticket to the airport and then go to a small metro station with noone there at that time).

It isn't true that all RATP machines only take coins, some take notes. I know I used one that did when I arrived at Gare de Lyon, also, to get my metro tickets or reup my Mobilis or something (it was not to buy a ticket to CDG, that's for sure). Sometimes there are 2-3 machines, and only one will take notes, you have to look for it. It's the new generation ticket machines, they also can be used by blind people. I think I read once that they were only in the stations at train stations, but I'm not sure. They could be putting them in more places by now.

Two different ticket vending machines in the Paris métro accepted my chipless credit card a couple of years ago.

My experience has been like Michael's. I bought tickets at CDG and in the new machines at Louvre-Palais Royal or thereabouts. These were the new machines, not the old ones.

I don't think using a debit card to make purchases at home or abroad makes any sense at all. I still don't get it. A non-debit ATM card is much safer, though your bank hates to let you have one since they make so much money from debit card fees.