Chip and Signature not PIN

[werdnanostaw]

I am currently in France. I am using my 28 Degrees CC.

It is a Chip and PIN card but I can't use the PIN. I always have to sign.

It's not a big deal here but I'll be in The Netherlands soon where 90% of the fuel stations are unmanned and they only accept chip and PIN cards.

Is this the case with all 28 Degrees cards or has mine not been activated properly? If it is a general problem is it a worldwide problem or only in France/Europe?

I also have an ANZ Platinum card. Will it work with a PIN?


Andrew Watson
La Rochelle, France

 

[TonyHancock]

In the UK I have to sign when I use my Woolworths EDR CC.

Haven't tried my 28 deg MC yet, other than to withdraw cash.

 

[Homer]

I had the same problem in Tuscany late last year with my ANZ Visa - almost all the “service" stations near where we were staying were fully automated and the card wouldn’t work at any of them. I wound up just using cash which was also tricky because I needed to pre-pay and the machines didn’t give change so I had to be careful not to put more cash in than I would need to pay for the fuel.

 

[JetLagged]

I have both a 28 de and an ANZ card - none of these allow me to use the chip feature while in the UK or Europe - something to do (or so I have been told) with foreign banks and differing systems.

I know this is no help to those needing to use fully automated petrol stations etc! Always have to carry cash as well, I suppose.

 

[ChrisFlyer]

It's actually to do with how the chips are programmed - to be able to enter a PIN in certain countries, the PIN needs to actually be programmed into the chip (encrypted of course). Westpac is the only Australian bank that I'm aware of that actually does this - the rest just use the chip to identify the card, while the PIN verification is done by the issuer's computers when authorising the transaction. In the UK (or when using a Westpac chip card in a chip terminal in Australia), if you enter the PIN incorrectly, it tells you immediately on the screen - no waiting for the issuer to respond. Also, if you've typed entered it twice incorrectly, a message similar to "last PIN try" is displayed when requesting the PIN.

When I was in Italy, if the card had a chip, you could enter a PIN (regardless of how it was programmed - therefore my CBA, ANZ and Westpac Visa/MC cards all allowed for PIN entry), and if there is no chip, you have no option but to sign (ie. for Amex - even though mine does have a PIN - just no opportunity to enter it).

In the UK, no chip = signature only, and chip = signature if PIN not programmed (CBA, ANZ etc), and PIN if programmed (Westpac). When I was in Singapore, I only used my Amex (no chip), and always had to sign... not sure what their system was like for processing chip cards.

 

[sinophile888]

In January, I was in Paris for the day and had my purse stolen at the Gare du Nord. It contained four cards and cash. I didn’t realise it was missing until I got back to London late that night. The NAB Visa Debit only had 7c on it, so it was OK. My Qantas Ultimate AMEX card had about A$900 spent before it was blocked; my CBA key card with a pin had another $700 spent before it was blocked and my 28 Degree card had $10400 spent on it before it was blocked. The thieves made 36 transactions on the 28 degree card on food, groceries, clothing, petrol, pharmaceuticals and hand bags.

So take great care with your cards. Don’t have them all together and watch out for Rumanian travellers.

 

[kdser]

In January, I was in Paris for the day and had my purse stolen at the Gare du Nord. It contained four cards and cash. I didn’t realise it was missing until I got back to London late that night. The NAB Visa Debit only had 7c on it, so it was OK. My Qantas Ultimate AMEX card had about A$900 spent before it was blocked; my CBA key card with a pin had another $700 spent before it was blocked and my 28 Degree card had $10400 spent on it before it was blocked. The thieves made 36 transactions on the 28 degree card on food, groceries, clothing, petrol, pharmaceuticals and hand bags.

What happened after that? Did you manage not to pay the bills?

 

[werdnanostaw]

We have arrived in Italy after 6 weeks in France where we had to sign every time we used our 28 Degrees CC.

In Italy we have to use the PIN.

Very strange.

I will report on what happens in the former Yugoslavias, Bulgaria and Romania when we get there.


Andrew Watson
Milano, Italy

 

[werdnanostaw]

In Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia H, Montenegro and Serbia we used PIN for all transactions.They've thought up a new variation in Bulgaria. It's PIN plus signature for all transactions!The next 14 days should be "interesting". We, meaning I, have to drive 2900 km back to Paris.Andrew WatsonBurgas on the Black Sea in Bulgaria

 

[werdnanostaw]

I wonder where all my paragraphs went.It may be a side effect of writing this on an iPod.Andrew Watson