Credit card use in Ireland
 

I just want to verify- I got the EYEWITNESS TRAVEL IRELAND guide book out of the library, new edition. Their credit card usage notation, states- "... pay by credit card in most hotels, petrol, large shops.. Keep in mind that you will need you PIN. VISA and Mastercard are the most commonly accepted...."

Is this true??? I have no PIN for my credit cards since I never use it for a source of cash. Any first hand information for me?? I'll be in Dublin, Kinsale, Killarney, Dingle, Bunratty. Thanks for the time.

Sorry, should read- Keep in mind that you will need your PIN.

I usually don't question GuideBooks, but the only time I have needed a PIN number in Ireland was was using my VISA CheckCard as a Debit Card or at ATM's.

I don't like to use a credit card for purchases in Ireland (there's usually an ATM nearby) because of the Hefty 'Foreign Currency Transaction' fees that many U.S. Credit Card issuers tack on; and then there's the 'Dynamic Currency Conversion' Scam that's been the subject of many posts here.

So, I use ATM's extensively and try to pay for everything in Cash.

You can get a Pin # for your Visa or Mastercard. One year my ATM Card Bank was being taken over by another Bank: The people at the local Bank Branch assured me that my ATM Card would work until I was issued a new one. It worked in Philadelphia; it didn't work in Ireland. So I had to revert to using a VISA Credit Card with a PIN # for 'short term loans' at exorbitant interest rates.

If you have a Chipped CC then you need a PIN. If it just has the magnetic stripe then a signature will do

Google "chip and pin"

Quite frankly it is ridiculous how much wrong information is given out by guide books and posters who don't know what they're talking about..

The latest rage in credit card technology is chip and pin technology which is being adopted more and more in some eu countries (and knowing the eu will probably be mandated at some point)...

Under this technology to complete a credit card transaction, the credit card is inserted in a terminal which reads the chip in the card and the person punches in a pin number. It is supposed to be safer and more secure and less subject to fraud but of course the vermin who control the credit card theft rings have figured out ways around it but that's another story.

In some "backward" countries, say the United States, this technology does not exist. US credit cards, in 99% of the cases, are still issued with the magnetic stripes, a technology who times is long since past but you know how difficult it is to make progress; after all the banks are making lots of money even with the fraud going on.

Anyway, under visa and mastercard regulations, these old fashioned signature cards must continue to be accepted and all terminals being made for the chip and pin technology (where the card is inserted to read the chip) also have a place to swipe the card the old fashioned way and a receipt will be issued calling for a signature; not that, in my experience, too many people check signatures anyway (the UK is a counter example where almost always the clerk makes a pretense at looking at the signature, next to never now in the USA and rarely in France)..the only problem is that in some rural areas, the imbecilic clerks insert the card in the chip and pin reader (even though they can see it is not a chip and pin card) and when it doesn't work don't know what to do and claim the card is not valid (it most assuredly is)...

And unlike some of the other nonsense thrown out on this board or in guide books, that is the correct information as to where it stands today.

So Americans using their mastercards or visas in Europe most assuredly do not need their pins to make purchases...although pins are needed to access ATM's and POS terminals when using a debit card and not using the mastercard/visa feature of the debit card.

Hi Budget Queen


Its true here in Dublin we use our pin for all our purchases, in supermarket, petrol stations, restaurants etc, but dont worry if you dont have a pin, you can still sign for your purchases, but 99% of the time you will be asked to enter your pin, so just be ready to tell them you will "sign for your purchases" thankyou!

I hope you enjoy Ireland.

Do you think they mean that extra three digit number on the back of the credit card? (I skimmed over these postings so perhaps I am off track)

I do know however, and this is a different point....3 or4 times in Ireland at hotels their machines print out the receipts so one has no choice but to be billed in DOLLARS...not Euros. Hotels are making extra money on this scheme...however when figuring afterwards, it is not a lot of difference. I refused, but it turned out to be easier just to have it billed in dollars.But one SHOULD have it billed in Euro if they want.!(One time ,however ,at a Tulip at the Dublin airport the receptionist DID credit me in dollars, and redid the receipt in Euros!)

We've discussed the scam known as dynamic currency conversion (dcc) on this board to death......

This cancer was born in Ireland and is widely found in Ireland.

But without going through the whole thing again there are 2 things you should be aware of.

1. It is illegal according to visa/mastercard regs for any merchant to pull this scam on you without giving you the choice of paying in local currency which in this case is the euro.

2. The terminal always asks the merchant to indicate the customer is willing to accept the currency conversion....most clerks are taught simply to say yes even without asking...and then if the customer notices are taught to tell one or more of the following lies...

1. The foreign currency (in this case US$) amount is an estimate and just for your information. You are actually being billed in euro.

2. The transaction is done automatically and I (the clerk) have no control over it.

3. What's done is done, the transaction cannot be cancelled.

4. Why are you making a big deal about this...you are getting a better rate without the fees your credit card charges you.

As we and others have noted, every one of those is a blatant lie. If you run into this scam, simply tell the merchant you refuse to sign and to re-do it properly in euro...if they refuse cross out the disclaimer and write dcc not accepted....and tell them you will be disputing the charge with your credit card company and that it will be charged back to them anyway.

mari5, they are supposed to ask you if you want the charge to be converted from Euro to $$$. Most merchants don't -- they just automatically do it. It will cost you an extra 3%. That's $3 on every $100 you spend. It's not chump change.

The extra 3 digit number on the back is for security when ordering something over the internet. Someone may be able to get a hold of your credit card number, but unless they have the actual credit card, they won't know that 3-digit number is. ((b))

We were in Ireland this past July and used both a credit cards and debit card. We did NOT need a pin on the credit cards (Master Card or Visa). We DID need a pin when we used our debit card to get money out of the ATM machines.

This is a subject where change is pervasive and frequent, and I would suspect that any guidebook is outdated by the time it is printed.

That leaves us at the mercy of anecdotal posters, not all of whom know as much as they think.

I regularly read an article on Flyertalk that has valuable information, but the author of that article makes clear that his information may be incomplete or outdated. If you want to read the article, go to flyertalk, select extras, then select frequent flyer wiki, and select the article on credit cards, on the right under featured articles.

I know in the US, the credit card companies forbid merchants from offering a discount for cash, but this appears to not be the case in Europe. So for other than very large purchases, where one may not want to go to the trouble of amassing a wad of euro, I think one's most economical option is to get euro from an ATM, and negotiate a cash discount with the merchant, rather than using a credit card. I know many Americans are uncomfortable with the idea of negotiating, but it is widely accepted, and even expected, in many places.

cleveland brown, what you say about dates and information being outdated by publication is true, except for one thing. This stupid statement about needing a pin to use a standard Visa or Mastercard credit card as a credit card is simply wrong. It is wrong now and it has always been wrong. It is not outdated -- simply wrong!

I've been asked for a pin number for purchases in other European countries - namely Romania and Hungary. Twice was for fuel purchases. But I've never had it happen in Ireland.

The 'chip' people refer to here is an Integrated Circuit (IC) Chip on the card itself. I have found/used them for EirCom (Ireland) and Telefonica (Spain). Unfortunately, they are not interchangeable.

You can get a PIN for your American credit card, even if it doesn't have a chip in it. I have PINS for both my US credit cards (a Visa and Capital One MC) just in case I needed it in Europe. I never have, but you can get a PIN without a chip card. Also, you have to have a PIN if you want to use your credit card to get cash at an ATM (which I'd only do in case of emergency). I think it's useful to get a PIN for your CCs.

Absotively posilutely you can get a PIN for an American credit card and yes pins are needed should you use your credit card in an ATM for a cash advance but this pin is not the same as the pin & chip cards where the reader reads the info off the chip...the pin is not on the magnetic stripe and lacking a chip the terminal will not ask for a pin.

I hope I add some clarification and not additional confusion. For most Americans, their credit card info is accessed when the magnetic strip is swiped. A signature is then required. In cases where a signature can not be obtained (inernet purchase, phone order) the three digit security code is also used. Many of these cards can also be used at atms where a pin is required.
With the new "chip and pin" cards widely used in Europe information from the card is obtained from a "micro chip" on the face of the card. The card is inserted into a machine and the the customer is asked to punch in the pin number.

"Most" stores will allow non chip and pin cards to be used. Others just say no- even if their credit card agreement prohibits this refusal. Chip and pin cards MUST use the pin and not a signature.
Hope this helps!

" know in the US, the credit card companies forbid merchants from offering a discount for cash..."

Hey, how come the gas stations here in California have discounts for cash? Their price boards give a price for cash and then a price for credit which is usually 3 or 4 cents more a gallon??

Do they still do that in California? About a decade ago, several of the large oil companies such as Shell began surcharging credit card sales...except they didn't call it a surcharge, they called it a discount for cash (which apparently is legal)..to make it a discount for cash, the posted and printed price must be the credit card price and the discount physically listed and paid out.

As a matter of fact when these idiotic programs started, what was done at many statins is the pumps only had the credit card prices and they used a chart to return the "cash discount." In several states such as NY, this was ruled as illegal as gasoline customers were required to pay what was shown on the pump so they began the system of having 2 sets of pumps and as a matter of fact Shell Oil began making its stations buy pumps capable of listing 2 prices for a particular grade, the cash price and the credit card price. Call it what you will.

At almost the same time companies began requiring these pumps, the oil companies realized how idiotic these policis were as it was the credit card customers who tended to say, "Fill it up" while the cash customers said, "Give me $5 worth" and thus realized they were alienating their best customers and so this idiotic policy, for the most part, met a merciful end.

I didn't know they were still pulling this garbage in California.

Well, I was more than a little annoyed recently in California pulling into three or four different major gas stations (all in great LA) and finding makeshift signs saying "due to the current high cost of gas no credit cards will be accepted".