Can you "Debit" at stores in France (not just ATM's)?
 

This may be a uniquely Canadian question (I honestly don't know if you can debit/interac in the US either :-) )
Can you pay with a debit card at stores or restaurants, or just use it to take money out of an ATM. (Hope this isn't a silly question!)

If you have a debit card linked in to a network recognised in France, yes. Maestro is the most common.

To answer your question about Debit in the US, no you can not.

They don't have a "Pin" number so ours does not work. I tried at WDW and they looked at me like I had 2 heads because their "Debit" cards all have a visa or MC logo.

I thought they were credit cards but one person explained that it was not credit but a Cheque Card as they put it.

Now, if the French have a keypad where you punch in a "Pin" number to complete the transaction, you might be able to use it but there is a steep charge for eah transaction...might not be worth it.

We are going to take some Euros with us, then use the ATM's (like we do in the US) and carry around 2 days worth of miney in our money belts divided between hubby and me...

I hope this helped.

another Canadian...

Chances are that if your card works in ATMs then it will work in retail outlets.

My understanding is that retailers and their banks do not impose any charges for using debit cards, but that your own bank might. I suggest that you ask your bank about their charging rules for euro transactions. The assistant at your local branch might not know or, worse, give you an incorrect response. See if you can find a phone number for your bank's card services division. Make a note of what you were told, and by whom, just in case you have a problem afterwards.

this is as much a curiousity question as anything - We aren't travelling to France until next year, but fully plan to use a combination of credit card, ATM machine visits (planning to bring 2 from different banks), plus bring some Euros.
I live by debit at home :-) (only really needing my loonies and toonies for my double double from Timmies - to throw around some Canadian cant!) so just curious if "in store debiting" was a possiblity elsewhere.
I saw those ads for 'cheque cards' in the states, but wasn't sure how they fit in. I actually believe that Canadian debit is only really possible because of the "big bank" system meaning it was relatively easy to set up a common network.
Again... just a curiousity :-)
thanks for your replies!

I'm from the US and have used my Debit card (Visa logo) in France without a PIN (similar to credit card but of course the funds are removed immediately from the chk. account). You sign a slip.

I can't remember using it in the POS terminal at the cashier, where you enter a PIN. If I did so, the only fees would be the 1%Visa foreign curr conversion charge and then 1% added from my bank. This is close to the same fee that would be incurred using it in the ATM for cash. What other fees would be incurred by your card?

I didn't try in France. But when I tried to "debit" at a grocery store in Ireland I was told they only allow it with cards with a chip.

Do Canadian cards have chips?

The rule in Ireland is that you must use "chip & pin" for cards issued here. Traders are allowed to accept signatures for cards issued in technologically-backward countries. Many don't, because their staff do not understand the rules, or simply because they think it inconvenient.

not relevant to the Europe forum :-) but from my bank's website re: in store purchases in the US
Debit Payment in the U.S.

"Travelling to the U.S.?

Take your TD Canada Trust Access Card with you. Using your debit card to make purchases in the U.S. is a convenient and safe alternative to carrying large amounts of cash.

Use your Access Card and the same PIN you use in Canada to pay for purchases in the U.S.* The amount of the purchase is debited immediately from your account as a self-serve transaction at the U.S.-Canadian exchange rate in effect that day.

You can use your Access Card at over one million U.S. retailers displaying the NYCE logo.

For more information on foreign exchange and currencies, contact your local branch.

* Your purchase will be debited immediately from your Canadian Dollar account as a self-serve transaction. Included in the currency exchange cost will be a conversion fee which is calculated by adding an additional 250 basis points to the interbank U.S. Dollar exchange rate. For example, on a purchase of $10 US with an exchange rate of 1.3, the transaction amount will be $13.25 CDN ($10 x 1.325)."

It doesn't have similar information about European debit services - just information about the ATM Plus network (including a lookup of usable ATM machines - useful stuff!)

I don't think we have chips in our cards

Sorry, and don;t mean to hi-jack this but I am totally CONFUSED by Photobear's post about not being able to use a debit card at WDW.

I've used my debit card there with a pin number more than once.

What is that all about????

I have used my debit card at a lot of ATM's with my pin and gotten out cash with no problems.

The only time I had a problem was at a store check out. I gave the lady my debit card (our do not have Visa or MC logos on them) and she ran it through but when I asked about a pin-pad to enter my pin number, she looked at me like I had 2 heads. She said that is not how it works.

Now this was a few trips ago, maybe 2003? but I have never used my debit card at a store because when I hand it to them , they ask for a "Real" card. Maybe I just got stupid cashier but maybe not.

Now, I would not just use my debit because I would spend more than my daily budget. I prefer to take out 2 days worth of money and stick to the budget.

Just to clarify, Canadian Debit card do not have Visa or MC logos on them. They only have the name of your bank or credit union. When I gave someone my Caisse Populaire Acadienne Card, they had no idea how I could use it in a store without a pin. All transactions with the debit cards here need a pin even at a check out, not only at an ATM.

Sorry if I caused confusion.

I'm from Canada and I'll be in France next week so I'll check it out and let you know! Not sure how optimistic I am about my debit card working though because it didn't in Denmark and it doesn't work here in Scotland where I'm currently living either(though I've never had a problem at an ATM in Europe as long as the ATM has a PLUS logo). As for the US, I do believe I've used my debit card there but I found that the problem was more that a lot of places didn't have debit machines (maybe that was just Hawaii though...)

If we're talking about cards with the Maestro and Visa Electron logos only, they work in MOST places. There is always a sign in the rare places that do not accept them.

Without those logos, absolutely none of the cards will be accepted in a shop.

There are no logos on Canadian debit cards - hence my lack of optimism about it working anywhere in Europe (especially since as I mentioned before, it hasn't in other cities in Europe). I usually don't even bother trying to see if it works anymore - I just take out money from an ATM with a PLUS logo and use my credit card (make sure you tell the store clerk that it has to be swiped!)

Canada_V, I'm not sure that's possible. We can in Canada because of the Interac network, but Interac is limited to Canada. Honestly, I've never tried to use my debit card in another country. But it is interesting that TD says you can use your card in the States.

Why don't you check with them about Europe?

Padraig, just to clarify...I could've used my debit card at the grocery store but wouldn't have been able to get cash back. The way mine works (and I'm guessing this is true of most American debit cards) is that the bank (and Visa) considers it a credit transaction if you sign and a debit transaction if you use your pin number. And I'm guessing that that's where not having the chip causes the problem. You can only get cash back when using it as a debit card. It comes out of my checking account either way, whether it's used as a credit card or a debit card. But my understanding is that if it's used as a debit card, my bank pays a fee. If it's used as a credit card, the merchant pays the fee. Which is why my bank charges <i>me</i> a fee when I use it as a debit card rather than a credit card.

I wonder if the US Visa cheque card uses the same infrastructure as the Visa credit card, just with a different thing happening with the financial institution. It's a curious thing (and honestly, might be different in a year the way these things work!).

I'm ANOTHER Val from Canada going to France but I'll be there in a few weeks. I have an Alberta Treasury Branch debit card which has the CIRRUS and MAESTRO logos on the back - my back &quot;assures&quot; me that it will work to take out cash. I've never used it to make purchases in any foreign country because a different bank card I had a number of years ago didn't work in the US for purchases so I stopped trying.

I'd LOVE to know from Erin what her experience is in France.