Chip Cards

What's an EMV Card? That's a new one on me.

i read that it's a Europay, Mastercard, Visa card that has chip technology. I don't know if it's something American banks are promoting yet. I know Chase isn't.

Is it necessary? - no. You can easily get all the cash you need at ATM's in France, using your American ATM/debit card. ATM's are everywhere, you'll have no trouble finding them.

I've been trying to get a chip card, too. Card technology in the US is really behind Europe (and Asia). One thing you can't do with cash or a US non-chip card is rent the public bicycles found throughout Europe. I'm trying HSBC this week.

The preloaded cards are becoming a popular offering from various card issuers because it is good fee income to the banks. You need to careful read the fine point and understand all the fees involved both disclosed and not disclosed. The use of debit/credit card full under banking regulations and require full disclosure of ALL fees. Preloaded cards are considered gift cards and do not full under banking regulations so they can do whatever they want. In the past some preloaded cards have had total fees upwards to 10%.

I have never purchased a pre-loaded EMV card from an online source before traveling to France. Then again I have no idea what an EMV card even is, but it must not be necessary.

How else can you rent a bike then, if you don't have the chip card?

My understanding is the "chip & PIN" cards are technically referred to as "EMV" cards (Toni described what the initials stand for). To answer the original question, whether it's "necessary" to purchase a pre-loaded card will depend on what you plan to do in France. If you need a card to rent Bikes or use other automated Kiosks, then having a "chip & PIN" card will be an advantage. I haven't looked at the fees charges on the pre-loaded cards, so can't comment on whether they're a good value or exorbitant. If you primarily need a Card for ATM withdrawals or credit card transactions, then your existing magnetic stripe card should work fine. Cheers!