Did You Want To Use Your Credit Card In Europe? Sorry.

October 5, 2009 at 1:18 PM | by Omri | 0 Comments

As if the cratering dollar wasn't enough of a problem for US tourists, the New York Times reports that even trying to use American credit cards in Europe is getting difficult. The problem is in the so-called chip-and-PIN verification technology that much of the world is adopting as an alternative to magnetic strip cards. Instead of swiping your card you're supposed punch in a personal ID that needs to match the one encoded on the chip. Only problem: US credit cards mostly don't have those chips.

The writeup manages to convey the issue with all the cosmopolitan awareness we've come to expect from the NYT Travel section. They relate the story of a passive-aggressive couple in Paris who—having had their cards rejected by bike kiosks—just walked around sullenly telling no one in particular how would awesome if they could ride a bike. Obnoxious. But that doesn't make the problem any less real:

That�s what Nancy Elkind, a lawyer from Denver, discovered in Paris when she wanted to use the popular V�lib� bicycle rental system on a weeklong vacation with her husband lastspring. They tried to swipe various cards at the rental kiosk, which doesn�t take cash, and all the cards were rejected. Then, thinking the problem might be with the kiosk and not their cards, they tried other V�lib� locations around the city. But each time, their cards were not accepted. 'We gave up, and kept walking around Paris, commenting occasionally on how much fun it would be to do some exploring by bike,' Ms. Elkind said.

Chip-and-PIN verification has become particularly popular in contexts where there's no one present to verify a customer's ID: ATMs, garages, train kiosks, etc. It wouldn't be as much of a problem if there was someone in those places to help when things went wrong. But of course if there was someone available they likely wouldn't be exclusively using chip verification anyway.

The situation is set to get even worse as the EU moves toward standardizing the technology across the board. If American credit card companies don't begin integrating chips, our credit cards will become as worthless as our dollars.

[Photo: Channel R / Wiki Commons]

Related Stories:
· For Americans, Plastic Buys Less Abroad [NYT]
· Credit Cards Coverage [Jaunted]
· Paris Coverage [Jaunted]

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