When using my Nationwide Visa credit card for as purchase in Thailand this afternoon I was asked to enter my PIN instead of signing the voucher. This is the first time I've had that happen outside the UK and I wonder how common it is. I didn't even realise until now that the UK Chip & PIN system was compatible or interlinked in any way with banks overseas.
Has anyone else experienced this when using a UK issued credit card abroad?
Chris
From a Thailand resident I'd wonder
Mark BR
I thought the same thing. You could set one up, scan the details, read the pin when entered and just authorise the purchase - then make the real money by removing cash from the person's account later.
It printed out a very authentic looking receipt on thermal paper, and I'm as confident as I can be that this was entirely legitimate. I'll monitor my Nationwide credit card account online over the next few days to make sure there are no surprises.
Chris
At one of the King Power duty free outlets in the departure hall of Don Meung International Airport, Terminal 2.
OK, but they're a reputable company that I've been using for many years, and I was happy to do so.
Chris
It's pretty universal in Ireland.
One word of warning. There is an option they see (but probably not you) to charge you in GBP rather than the local currency. Insist in paying in the local currency - especially if using a Nationwide card. Of course there could be "communication problems"...
I was getting an exchange rate of 1.48 to the pound in Ireland on my Nationwide Visa card - except on the one where I was assured that I wasn't paying in GBP (which it turns out I was), where I got 1.43.
OK, I'd trust King Power as well, except I'd never pay their prices!
Mark BR
Just back from France and could only use chip and pin in all the shops I went to. The assistants who saw it was an English (Tesco) card tried swiping the card first, but this was rejected and they were told to use the chip reader.
Even a 'pay at pump' fuel pump accepted my card.
...
And it allows you to use automatic ticket machines in France for train travel - no PIN = no card, queue up instead! French chip ("puce") cards have arrows without which retailers tend to try to swipe and get confused when told to "insert".
Can't be stressed highly enough. On renting a car in Schiphol, they kindly (?) charged me the airport surcharge in GBP with a sign-here to say I'd been offered "a choice". I stomped and complained that no such choice had been offered - cue apologies and a reprint in EUR (about the same rate as it happened but in general it's a poor rate).
That's good news. I remember attempting to use my card in an old chip reader at a self serve petrol pump, long before I knew what those were (the chip readers that is ;-) ). Three times it asked me to key in my PIN, before finally giving up.
I also recall checkout operators insisting in sticking my card in the chip reader, even though the card clearly didn't have a chip. Only when it said it couldn't read the card would they then try swiping it. When I asked why, I was told that they had to do it that way!
You are asked to enter your PIN in Sweden too. But the machine isn't using the Chip.
tim
This particular transaction was done in local currency, but a hotel I'd stayed at in Bangkok a few days ago tried that on me. I insisted they void the transaction which they had converted from Thai Baht to Sterling at the rate of 67.5675. They did the transaction again in local currency and Nationwide applied this to my account at a rate of
69.9035. That's an improvement in exchange rate of nearly 3.5%Chris
Few problems in France, although they are only just getting used to non-French cards operating this way - and it seems that some of their readers don't work with our chip. A couple of hotels had two different C&P readers to get around this during the summer.
In Spain, where you usually have to show a passport as well - C&P is becoming more common - but on every occasion so far that a PIN has been entered I have also been asked to sign the receipt. Was worried to start with but I have not yet had a double charge and I don't usually make a good looking signature as the card has already been returned at that point.
I've found that some bottles of spirits are cheaper in normal supermarkets where I live here in the Philippines than they are duty-free in Bangkok.
Chris
I was in Amsterdam in August paying for most things with my Egg mastercard. Most places had chip and pin terminal that looked identical to ones in this country only that you did not have to enter any pin! The card was put in the machine the amount came up as normal on the little screen and then all you had to do was press the green button to proceed and that was that! Some places asked for signatures.
You don't have to go to Thailand to be exposed to that risk - simply pop into your local Shell garage. Allegedly. (Or have they fixed that now?)
I don't think the issue is resolved - it's been six months hasn't it.
So it is a chip & sig terminal presumably?
At 14:15:18 on 22/09/2006, Chris Blunt delighted uk.finance by announcing:
"Chip & PIN" is simply the UK's name for 'EMV', a global standard. With the notable exceptions of the USA and Canada, most countries seem to be investigating, if not already implementing, the technology.
At 00:05:25 on 24/09/2006, Poldie delighted uk.finance by announcing:
Yes.
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