The new "chip card" - requires a 6 digit pin in Europe ????

Not my card, not as of late last year, though it's not a "Cambridge" card. Local bank branch personnel are notorious for not knowing about chip and pin, let alone chip and sig, and giving out wrong information. Dig deeper.

Thanks, Dave !

Disgusted with the lack of information and/or genuine interest in helping me...bank wants to write it off with "Not that we are aware of"- PATHETIC response from my bank, Cambridge Trust in Cambridge, MA !!! Wonder if a major bank might be more responsible...any other advice for me ? I leave next week...

Anne

As far as getting a true c & p in a week, that may be tough. I do believe I've heard people say that Schwab is pretty quick though, you might check it out. Andrews FCU, while a good card, moves at a snail's pace to get you opened up. I would recommend avoiding conventional banks for this.

Anne, where did you hear this? On the internet? In the Harvard Coop? On Jenny McCarthy's Vaccine Advice blog?

On the minus side, there have been posts here about bad results at French highway toll stations with a true chip-and-PIN card, according to the poster. All I could get just now from the lame search function was this, but I think there was a June, 2015 post too:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/french-toll-booths-with-chip-and-pin

We have been to Europe twice now with the chip Visa card and other than some automated machines we have used them every where as a chip and signature, not problem at all. Actually three times now, France, England and Italy.

Hi !

With a 4 or 6 digit password ?????? The number of digits in the password is my question....

I have a 4 digit password but "hear" that 6 digits are necessary - in Europe. Yes ? or no ?

No-one seems to "really" know at my bank...

I would suggest a Barclay World Elite MasterCard - Apply online and get an instantaneous approval . It is indeed a true Chip and Pin card ( although its default CVM is chip and signature ) . I took one last year prior to a protracted trip to the UK this past Autumn , and it worked like a charm - look here http://www.findmybarclaycard.com/barclaycard-credit-cards/arrival-plus

I do not know enough about your card to be too specific, but here goes. Most cards I am aware of use a four digit pin, there is such a beast as a six digit pin in some countries, but I almost always see a four digit pin discussed, and if your card uses four, that what the terminal is expecting to see.

I have a true chip and pin issued by Citi for business, I have a four digit pin, and have used it in Germany, I would find it odd that France would go their own way and require only a six digit, but then they are French.

As for your card, it is difficult to say whether it is even a chip and pin, you may have the chip, and you may have a pin, but like another card I have, it may only be chip and signature, and the pin only for cash advance. As has been noted, any bank seems to be a poor source of info. I guess one question that might help...when you received your card, were you required to set up a PIN prior to activating? or was it done after the fact?

I will add, even with a chip and pin, you will likely still be asked for a signature as that seems to be primary on most US cards, and even then, the old mag strip cards still are accepted,. Trust that if they want your money, they will get it to work.

my debit card & my CC are chip and pin and I have a 4 digit password for both. Have had chip & pin cards for quite a number of years and have never had a problem with a 4 digit pin anywhere in Europe

You need an answer from your bank's credit card processor. Probably the (800) number on the back of the card will get you to them if the bank front line folks can t get the number.

Anne,

All of my cards are Chip & PIN, all have a four-digit PIN and all work just fine in Europe. I've never heard of banks using a six-digit PIN, altough it's certainly possible. It's probably safe to say that if your card works fine in the U.S. with a four-digit PIN, it will also work in Europe in the same way.

Your bank / trust co. doesn't seem to be too well informed on the products they offer, and customer service seems lacking. As you're leaving in a week, you'll have to stick with them but you could change banks when you get home. In any case, be sure to notify them that you'll be travelling using the number on the back of the card, so they don't freeze your card when they detect transaction activity in Europe.

you need the information from your card company, but I use four-digit pins all the time and have never heard of a 6-digit pin being necessary. of course my anecdotal "evidence" may not have anything to do with your card!

But I do know I've read for years that people who have longer-than-four-digit "passcodes" for their ATM cards coming to Europe need to go to their bank to get it changed to a four-digit pin. To me, four-digit has always been the standard, I really don't understand why one would need six digits.

Debit cards (cash machine/ATM cards) have 6 digit PIN's in Europe as default. The story about needing a 4-digit PIN for Europe is an urban myth; it may have been true 20 years ago, but not now.
My credit card came with a 4-digit PIN, but I don't know if that is standard or just my bank. I have never tried to change the PIN.

I have been using a 4 digit PIN in Europe for years and years. What's more it starts with a zero. Gasp!

Thanks to all responders !

Chris F. in Switzerland, you have never needed a 6 digit password in Europe - your same 4 digit password always works ????

It doesn't matter what European issued cards require for a PIN. All that matters is what YOUR card requires for a PIN. Plenty of people have used 4 digit PINs in Europe.

Keep in mind though, that your PIN might not always work in Europe, and it has nothing to do with the digits in your PIN. Some automated systems will not work with cards not issued in Europe (for example some machines only work on the Maestro system, which is not a US system). This seems to be fairly rare, but always be prepared to purchase from an attendant.

The customer representatives at your bank, or any bank, will not know the details of every card system and usually don't really understand their own validation protocol systems. I'd actually be surprised if your chip card is even chip and PIN - more likely the primary validation is still signature (sometimes a PIN does work for automated transactions). The only way to know is to try it and either it works in automated machines or it doesn't. Again, be prepared to use a manned kiosk.

Your posts have a sense of panic about them. Honestly, relax and enjoy your trip. Your credit card, just like always, will work in 90% of cases you use it in Europe.

atheling, All my cards are issued by European banks (British and Swiss) and work in every country I have tried them in. Some were issued with 4-digit PINs, some 6-digit. Look where I live (see left).
Since European banks issue cards with either 4 or 6 digit PINs, it cannot be true that you must have a PIN of either length to work on European cash machines (ATM's) or credit card terminals. All my cards (debit and credit) are chip-and-pin.

I have been to Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, and Italy in the last 18 months or so. I have a chip & signature card and have never had difficulty using it. Will be traveling to France next month. Hopefully it will still hold true. My bank explained to me that the chip & pin (requires a pin) is different from the chip & sig. I do not have a 4 or 6 digit password. It has worked like a charm.

USAA recently sent me a chip and pin card (I didn't even have to ask). It's a four digit pin. I've never needed more than 4 digits in Europe. If so, it's a new requirement I haven't run into.

I've had an Andrews FCU chip and PIN with a 4 digit PIN for 3 years, and it's worked everywhere (albeit often as a Chip and signature card), including train stations and Metro, except a few times at toll booths. Conversely, I have 2 debit cards, one with a 4 digit PIN and the other a 6 digit, and they've never failed to work.

I also just heard that the 6-digit request might be a possibility from one of my credit card companies. When I called to notify my credit card company that I would be using the card in Europe. Tthe gentleman I spoke to on the phone said that if the ATM asked for a 6 digit pin and would not give it to me with my 4 digit then I needed to begin with 00 and then complete with my 4 digit pin. Of course I haven't had the opportunity to even use it yet so can't tell you if that will actually work with my card or any other card for that matter.

awis51...appreciate the info from your credit card company about adding 00 at the beginning of the 4 digit password...will certainly try it ..if necessary. THANKS...