greg

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.

DebitNM

"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. ]

janisj

>><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.

tom_mn

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

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

Michael

<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.

Mimar

>> 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.

tom_mn

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.

Christina

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.

Michael

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

Ackislander

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.