Can you use chip credit cards without a pin?

Other than some automated ticket machines or gas pumps, you should not have a problem with credit cards. The readers that are used determine if they are non-pin and the merchant immediately knows that a second slip will be printed that you will be asked to sign. If you are using the debit card for ATM withdrawals, the non chip card is readily accepted. If you have time prior to leaving, see if your debit card provider can reissue a card with a chip. Other posters may have had different experiences, but these have been mine.

Thank you. I don't have pins for my cards. It would be most inconvenient to have them rejected.

with a personal transaction no problem, you just sign.

for machines it is dicier. we were able to charge our Navigo Ds on machines --they ask for a pin but we just waited and they went through without. we were able to use our cards at toll booths in southern france but some south of paris would not take them and there are no longer people manning booths They probably dont work for train tickets --last year we had to wait in long lines to buy tickets.

You don't need a debit card with a chip to make ATM withdrawals, nor do you need a PIN number for your chipped credit cards.

My experience is similar to janettravels above. I've had problems trying to get train tickets from a machine, and haven't tried my card for tolls. Works for metro tickets fine though.

Go to Travel Tips -- Money right here on the Rick Steves website for thorough explanations on this topic and many others related to getting and using money in Europe, both the plastic and the cash kind.

Thank you all for your helpful replies. Now I can relax & enjoy my trip! 😀

It will be even more relaxing if you get PINs for your cards, a simple process and part of the financial protection.

Thank you, I'm sure you're right, sigh. But I leave tomorrow, & just learned about pins yesterday, so there's no time as pins are sent by mail. I thought pins were the the security codes on the backs of cards. I lived in France for 7 years, but that was 40 years ago! I'm sure more surprises await me.

Don't worry about not having a PIN -- our experience (September) was that the chip-and-signature card worked on unattended machines in France sometimes. Toll machines three out of five (the ones that did not were run by Vinci) and gas stations one time out of two (and they were both from the same company.) Metro machine expected a PIN, but I just punched in four random numbers and it produced the requested carnet (€15)
Absolutely NO problems when there was a person involved who could print out a receipt for signature.
Have a great trip!!

Have to disagree with woinparis -- the card I was using was Visa, and it was NOT accepted for all tolls. Maybe European Visa cards are, but ... carry cash! And some tolls can be in excess of €20.

It will be even more relaxing if you get PINs for your cards, a simple process and part of the financial protection.

Perhaps good advice if you bank in Canada, but in the US, in most cases, getting a PIN for a credit card only helps with Cash Advances. The number of US cards that are true Chip and Pin can maybe be counted on one hand (well maybe two now)

A PIN is still a good idea (cash advances can come in handy) and on occasion just entering your pin when prompted, as one person mentioned, will help low Dollar transactions in kiosks go through, though some have reported that any random four digit number works as well.

Again, thank all of you for your thoughtful replies. I'm so relieved to learn that my cards will, for most of the time, work just fine.

It's also interesting to know that more people speak English, just in case my rusty French fails me, lol!
Thank you for well wishes!

Yes, the PINs you get for credit cards issued by US based banks are intended for cash advances -- when you are in the US.

I found that having the PIN made life easier in Europe. I was able to use unmanned ticket machines for subways and trains all over Italy by entering my CHIP credit card PIN when prompted. I was never charged for a cash advance on any of the transactions (because none were done at an ATM and none resulted in me receiving cash). None of the ticket machines I used would move forward with the transactions without my entering some 4 digit number. Trying random 4 digits worked a couple times, but the real PIN worked every time.

My suggestion is just go ahead and get the PIN. Doesn't hurt. And can be handy.

I just got back from France. I took two credit cards and one debit. In general I'd say I always found a way to get what I needed. My Visa credit card worked fine for hotels and restaurants. It even seemed to work consistently for attended gas stations (a cashier on duty). I had less luck, but not completely out of luck, with automated machines and toll booths.

I never felt fully confident that any of my cards would work. I'd guess the biggest problem is the time lapse to get approval from the states. Often I'd get a decline message then I'd try again and get an approval or a decline message followed by the machine spitting out my tickets.

I had one time where nothing worked, at a toll booth, and I had to pay cash - fortunately I had enough cash at the time.

Last year (May 2015) I was in Paris, used the chip and signature Visa credit card from B of A to pay for dinner. The waitress knew how to work it, recognisng the card as American but the wait time seemed long to her after she had inserted it. To allay her concern, I just said, "ça va marcher, Madame." It worked, no problems. No need for a PIN, which is required of them.

Most restaurants and shops in France, even outside big cities, seem to know how to deal with American cards now. And yes, our chip transactions do take a little longer to process, although it's really just a matter of a few extra seconds. But it can seem like a lot to someone who is used to processing true chip and PIN transactions.

Thank you Robert, Brad & Frank!
Thank You for your replies! Very helpful. So far I've had no problems with my cards. I used cash at the toll booths & avoided problems., lol.

Thank you Robert, Brad & Frank!
Thank You for your replies! Very helpful. So far I've had no problems with my cards. I used cash at the toll booths & avoided problems., lol.

fwiw the ONLY toll booths in France that took our chip/sig cards were Vinci. we drove from Paris to Dordogne in Sept and back from the Riviera at the end of that month.

Hi Janet,
I've found that even the automated tolls like €€€!! My cards work fine in person. I haven't needed to buy gas yet. That will be a test.
Thanks for your input. I appreciate it.

When I got my first chip credit card, I was told there was no pin. That turned out to be incorrect. Both my bank of america and my chase card do have pins - you just have to ask for them. Then you will be covered for machines as well as stores. The only problem I ever had in Italy or France was on toll roads. It worked most of the time and then once it didn't - so I always go in line with both credit and cash- just in case. Happy travels. sue