My bank debit card which I use to obtain cash in Europe each trip does not have a chip. The bank says it is not planned in the near future. Will I be able to wtihdraw cash from machines like I have done in the past without a chip on my card? What are the alternatives? I have checked with all the banks in town, and none have a debit card with a chip yet.

Chips are for credit cards, not debit.

You should only be using a debit card in ATMs, and all ATMs take magnetic stripe cards. You'll be fine.

Have you checked with your bank to see how much they will charge you to withdraw money in Europe? The big banks usually offer the worst value - charging $5 per use plus 3% foreign exchange. You should be able to find smaller banks or credit unions with much better terms.

I've just opened a account called Capital One 360 Checking which comes with a chip & pin debit card (sorry BigRuss) to use when I travel. It's opened online, takes about a week to get it set up & ready to go. An added advantage is it's likely cheaper to use than your local bank's card, like the Cap1 credit card, no foreign currency transaction fee, just 1% charge for the master card affiliation.

By the way, your chipless debit card should work fine. I'll have my other debit cards with me too.

BigRuss all Dutch Debit cards have a chip. It is the only way to use them to pay for things in the Netherlands.
They still have a magnetic strip, purely for old ATMs and travel outside the Netherlands.

Your magnetic strip debit card will work just fine in an ATM.

One of these centuries magnetic strips will be done away with, and skimming, and a lot of fraud will go with them.

Chase recently sent a replacement debit card and it also had a chip... however, the previous chipless card worked just fine in overseas ATMs.

You can notify your institutions about your overseas travel online now which I find more convenient than using the phone.

I don't know if this is true for anyone else, but when I used my debit card (with chip) my bank charged a small amount for each transaction. It was annoying to have these charges for .33 or .17 on my bank statement when I balanced.

In the future I will not use my debit card for anything but withdrawing cash at an ATM. Wells Fargo charges $5 per transaction for that, but at least I don't have to deal with these teensy little numbers when I balance.

Whatever anyone tells you always have a plan B.

Peg, I wonder if those small charges were that percentage they charge for overseas transactions? Was it about 1 - 3 percent of the purchase price? If not, I'd phone them to find out what went on. I know it's only a few cents, but if it were me, I'd be curious.

I do only use my debit card in ATMs; it makes me feel more secure.

And, I agree about having a plan B and C.

Regarding Peg's small charges, they were no doubt the foreign currency transaction fees charged by almost all institutions. There are credit cards to use to avoid them (mine, as mentioned, is my old standby Capital one but there are others now) and now also with their checking accounts with debit card for cash withdrawals. I think in general it's better to use a credit card for purchases and debit for cash. Certainly for accruing miles, but also not credit cards for cash with the additional cash advance fees.