using credit card in UK

I'll be sailing eastbound to Southampton (my first transatlantic on QM2) and visiting London for a few days. A friend told me I'll be asked to enter the PIN if using the foreign credit card in UK. Is that true? I have no idea what PIN he refers to.

We had no problem using a Visa card in Salisbury last year, just sign, nothing else.

Your friend is probably talking about using a credit card as an ATM card at an ATM machine. I've never had trouble using a credit card for purchases in the UK or anywhere else in the world.

I am not sure about Canadains but most cc companies are now adding 3% as a service fee to use credit cards overseas, but except at the ATM no pin number is required. Remember some debit cards do require a use of a pin and individual banks may be doing something added for secruity purposes. but I hope not one more number that I can forget :)

Yes, you are now required to use a pin whenever you use a credit card or debit card in England everywhere. This came into force on Feb 14th. This pin number is the one you would use if you were to withdraw money in the whole in the wall. You will be unable to sign for any purchase, you will be required to use the four digit pin, just ask at your bank if you are unsure.

Hope this helps

Diane

>A friend told me I'll be asked to enter the PIN if using the foreign credit card in UK. Is that true?

No. Retailers will continue to accept a signature instead of a PIN for those cards that are NOT chip and PIN.

See:

http://www.visitbritain.com/VB3-en-HK/corporate/hk_press_centre/chipandpin.aspx

Yes, you are now required to use a pin whenever you use a credit card or debit card in England everywhere. This came into force on Feb 14th. This pin number is the one you would use if you were to withdraw money in the whole in the wall. You will be unable to sign for any purchase, you will be required to use the four digit pin, just ask at your bank if you are unsure.

 

Hope this helps

 

Diane

This only applies to chip and pin cards. My American Express card has only recently become chip and pin, and my wife's supplementary card is still not chip and pin.

If, for any reason, the terminal cannot use chip and pin - even on a chip and pin card - it defaults to the old system. Again, I've had this with my American Express card recently, as well as my Maestro card.

There should be no problem in using a card from overseas.

Matthew

If you are planning on doing some shopping whilst in London, you may find a large number of retailers may refuse to serve you without a chip and pin. Some major retailers don not accept signatures......

As others have said the pin number applies only to a debit card used at an ATM machine.

Be sure and notify your credit card company that you will be using it in Europe as well as the dates you will be there. Some companies might put a hold on your card if they thought it was stolen and used abroad.

The vast majority of credit card merchants have been forced to transfer to chip and pin verification (as opposed to signature). A few suppliers will no longer accept signature now. The banks supplying credit cards have placed the onus for refunding fraudulent use on the merchant if they do not verify by chip and pin as opposed to signature, which on most PDQ's has to be selected. We take credit cards as a hotel so we do know about these things.

Amex is about a thousand years behind all other cards on anti-fraud so has still not registered as a chip and pin card.

The norm in the US appears to be not to sign your card - this is a major NO in the UK. If you do have to verify by signature then you should ensure you have already signed your card!!

Ken

Please take care when using your card; fraudsters are ever inventive. Don't let anyone take your card away from you for processing( a ploy used in restaurants sometimes). Make sure you aren't watched when completing a transaction.

My credit card was cloned at a garage the day before I left for our last cruise in Nov. I used it to fill up with petrol to travel to Southampton and the card details were 'compromised' by the garage operators. This is a growing scam favoured by a specific ethnic group operating throughout the UK. The card details were used for a number of relatively small purchases, both at the garage and over the internet. Total transactions only about £300, but usage was growing. Fortunately I was in the Caribbean when 2 transactions took place, so it was easy to challenge these and the other fraudulent spends.

A bit of caution and all should be well.:)

Be sure and notify your credit card company that you will be using it in Europe as well as the dates you will be there. Some companies might put a hold on your card if they thought it was stolen and used abroad.

Amen - I've been woken at 3am in Sydney (should have turned the mobile off) to be told 'Someone's using your Credit Card in Australia' - 'Yes! Me!'.

Amen - I've been woken at 3am in Sydney (should have turned the mobile off) to be told 'Someone's using your Credit Card in Australia' - 'Yes! Me!'.

Lucky you - at least they rang you - I've been abroad a couple of times when they've just stopped my credit card and haven't tried to inform me:(

Yes, you are now required to use a pin whenever you use a credit card or debit card in England everywhere. This came into force on Feb 14th. This pin number is the one you would use if you were to withdraw money in the whole in the wall. You will be unable to sign for any purchase, you will be required to use the four digit pin, just ask at your bank if you are unsure.

 

Hope this helps

 

Diane

Yikes! I think this is going to cause mass confusion as few North Americans have heard of this and I am planning my first ever trip to the UK this August/September.

How can the PIN be the same one you would use if you were withdrawing money if we have separate debit cards here in Canada and I have never linked my Visa to any ATM. This isn't a gentle non-issue. This now means we have to link our credit cards to ATM machine use so that we can now enter PIN numbers in foreign countries so we can make purchases as we no longer can sign?

David

More confused than ever!

If you are planning on doing some shopping whilst in London, you may find a large number of retailers may refuse to serve you without a chip and pin. Some major retailers don not accept signatures......

That is simply not the case. They may refuse to accept a signature with a chip and pin card, but not if you don't have a chip and pin card. Please see my earlier post.

As I said, I have had many months of using a signature card since the 14th February implementation date.

And, in any event, some people can avoid chip and pin if they suffer from a disability that makes it hard to use.

Matthew

I think this might help.

http://www.chipandpin.co.uk/overseas/visitor.html

David

Who is a little more reassured as I never even heard of chip and pin!

Yikes! I think this is going to cause mass confusion as few North Americans have heard of this and I am planning my first ever trip to the UK this August/September.

 

How can the PIN be the same one you would use if you were withdrawing money if we have separate debit cards here in Canada and I have never linked my Visa to any ATM. This isn't a gentle non-issue. This now means we have to link our credit cards to ATM machine use so that we can now enter PIN numbers in foreign countries so we can make purchases as we no longer can sign?

 

David

More confused than ever!

David - do you have a chip embedded into your credit card?

If it looks like the attached, then you do. And you'd need (if it is equipped with a PIN) to use chip and pin.

If it is the same, but without the shiny patch, then forget chip and pin. You'll sign.

Matthew

Sylvia is telling the truth!

Marc had his credit card denied in St Thomas because they had our home phone number and they called us to tell us somoene was suddenly using our credit card all over the Caribbean!

Yeah! Us!

So call them ahead of time to note on your record that you will be traveling wiht the card, or make sure they at least have your cell phone (if you will be where your cell phone will be working)

Karie,

who had to use my card instead.

I actually didn't expect that many responses. Thank you all.

Matthew, thanks for showing me what a chip and pic card looks like :). In Canada, I've never seen anything like that. Even travelling to USA or Japan, I was never asked to enter a PIN.

Thank you, David. Your link seems to assure that the traditional credit cards are accepted with the signature in UK. I'd hope to be able to use the credit card for the convenience.

And we should always be cautious when using our credit cards. I guess I'll buy more pounds before I sail. ;)

Jerry

The norm in the US appears to be not to sign your card - this is a major NO in the UK. If you do have to verify by signature then you should ensure you have already signed your card!!

Ken

The identity theft gurus in the US say never sign a credit card, instead write "Photo ID required" where the signature should be. Would an unsigned card plus a passport work in the UK?

Paul

The identity theft gurus in the US say never sign a credit card, instead write "Photo ID required" where the signature should be. Would an unsigned card plus a passport work in the UK?

Paul

I think you would have difficulties. People in this country expect a card to be signed (even a chip and pin!) and I don't think most shop assistants would be able to cope with the concept of doing it a different way.

Matthew

The identity theft gurus in the US say never sign a credit card, instead write "Photo ID required" where the signature should be. Would an unsigned card plus a passport work in the UK?

As I've been an identity theft victim, (still dealing with it) I tried this with one of my cards in the UK, and nobody would accept it.

David - do you have a chip embedded into your credit card?

 

If it looks like the attached, then you do. And you'd need (if it is equipped with a PIN) to use chip and pin.

 

If it is the same, but without the shiny patch, then forget chip and pin. You'll sign.

 

Matthew

Matthew, as it stands I'll be signing. However, that being said, I know my current favourite card is due to expire before the August cruise so maybe the renewal card will be more up to date. We'll just see what happens. The chip and pin seems to be still a new idea around North America and I must admit I never met anyone who has the new chip on their card. I think this is one of those things we still have to catch up with.

David

>I know my current favourite card is due to expire before the August cruise so maybe the renewal card will be more up to date.

Bramcruiser, as far as I know Visa Canada is looking at a Chip & Pin type system to be launched in 2010, they have been looking at it since 2003, so I wouldn't be surprised if there were delays.

I know in the USA American Express did/does have a card with a chip, but that didn't seem very successful. It was also a different system to the UK's Chip & PIN.

The concept is that the traditional magnetic strip is not secure. The embedded chip is suppossed to be more secure. Although many instance of fraud with the Chip & PIN system have already been reported.......

This type of credit card is not actually new at all. I remember first seeing it in France in 1993. The UK jumped on the band-waggon about 12 years later, but with a different and incompatible system (Brits always have to be different :rolleyes:).

EMV (Mastercard & Visa essentially) is trying to establish a global standard for chip based systems, which about 100 countries have agreed to be part of so far.

I suspect the USA will be one of the last to adopt this approach. A lot of Point Of Sale equipment in the USA is leased, that means the card companies will have to fork out for the technology upgrade costs, unlike the UK and France where the retailers typically pay for the equipment upgrades.

The USA doesn't seem to be overly concerned about this subject. Mastercard's PayPass system in the USA is going in the other direction. No PIN, no swiping, no signing. Tap your key fob on the terminal and walk out the door.......zero security!

As a consumer I like the idea of keeping fraud related charges firmly in the hands of the banks. Chip & PIN, and other similar systems are the slippery slope of making those fraudulent charges the consumers responsibity IMHO! Other laws/rules in the UK stop that happening right now......but, it looks like the thin end of the wedge to me :(

Anyways, most of us on this side of the pond should be still be signing while in Europe (& at home) for at least the next 5 years. You will need to have "signed cards" over there.....they won't touch those not signed on the back!!

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Anyways, most of us on this side of the pond should be still be signing while in Europe (& at home) for at least the next 5 years. You will need to have "signed cards" over there.....they won't touch those not signed on the back!!

On the other hand, can a chip and pin card holder use his/her card in North America or other countries which do not adapt that system?