Pin number needed on chip credit cards when purchasing metro and RER tickets in Paris?

Obviously your bank may be different, but I was able to choose a PIN online for immediate use; wouldn't hurt to have it. I got it for a trip to Istanbul in the fall and never once needed it.

I did the same to get my PIN for my credit card. Did it instantly online. Can’t hurt.

Quite a few years ago I had to use my CC PIN at a ticket machine in a London Tube station.

Something about transit kiosks.... I've needed my credit card PIN for tickets in Frankfurt and Washington, D.C.

One of my banks provides a PIN online in seconds. The other sends out via US Mail. Quaint.

That's interesting. I live in Washington DC and have been using the Metro system for over 40 years. I've never been prompted for a credit card PIN. I'd expect it if I used a debit card, but I never do that.

I've bought a lot of transportation tickets (train, bus, intracity bus/tram/subway) from machines in at least 13 European countries since 2015. Only once have I not been able to complete a transaction for lack of a credit-card PIN. It was in Warsaw, and I was trying to buy a tram ticket from a vending machine. Sometimes there's an abnormal-seeming pause before the machine spits out my ticket, but it has always eventually done so except in Warsaw.

I would get a pin #. No cost to obtain one, if your cc provider can provide one! We had encountered the need for a # trying to purchase RER tickets from the kiosk and petrol at unmanned stations. After those experiences which occurred over a decade ago, only a few banks offered the chip and pin, so we opened a card with Barclay.

We will never forget the kindness of a Parisian man one early morning at the Boul Mich RER station. Credit card after credit card we inserted into the machine were not working because a pin was needed. It was too early for the manned booth to be open, so DH and I were scrounging to find enough euro to insert when this man noticed our struggles and gave us the lacking euro!

No, you're fine. The machine can tell the difference between a chip and pin and a chip and signature. Just punch 1111 or 9999, or whatever and it will spit out what you need or even approve without the code. I do also have credit and debit cards with pins; those have to have the pins entered in order to work.

Your card does have tap-capability I hope, because that eliminates the need for a pin, but in France there is a 50-euro top limit for each tap purchase.

if you have tap to pay, just tap it; at the train station in CDG, there are helpers that also speak English to assist. I reloaded by Navigo Decouverte on 16 April, so just a little bit ago.

Thanks to all of your for your suggestions and experiences. It is very appreciated.

You can use a chip sig card in the metro for purchases up to 75 Euro (I could not load my ND with a monthly pass which is now 85 and so used my apple pay touch pay and that worked fine). You put your card in and then do your transaction; when it asks for a pin just wait and it will process it without. You don't need to enter 9999 or whatever -- just stand there. I have done this many many times. But if you do have a touch pay like apple pay that works pretty much everywhere and with out the need to sign at stores etc.

THANKS for this reminder. I just went on line and established (or changed?) my credit PIN. I told myself a few months ago that I needed to do this before our upcoming departure date. :-)

Just used credit card several times including at metro - do NOT need PIN. It askes for it, but then shortly will go through the approval process without it.

A PIN on a chip sig card is not likely to be in the PIN system in Europe and won't make a difference.

Thanks again for all the help and sharing your suggestions and experiences. We really appreciate it.

There are credit card PINs used in lieu of signature to validate transactions, and there are credit card PINs only valid for cash advances when a credit card is used in an ATM machine. There are very, very few US issued credit cards that use PINs to validate transactions. Those of you receiving instant PINs for your credit cards are likely only activating your credit card to be used at an ATM.

Most US credit cards are now accepted at transportation ticket kiosks for purchases limited to approximately 50€. No PIN is required, any PIN input is ignored.