Chip and Signature

A lot of people have been reporting that a card with 'tap' capability is the most common now. Do you know if your card has that?

You can tell if a card is “tap” because it will have a symbol on it. I’m not good at describing it, but if you Google “ contactless card symbol”. You will see what it looks like. My card never needed a pin or a signature when I tapped it.

Trip in the past month and a half: London - we did a contactless “tap” purchase everywhere with our Chase VISA card, except one place, where they had us sign. I think it depends on the card reader device the merchant is using, and maybe their card banking system, too.

Then in southern Africa, it was either tap or sign, mostly the latter. Never used a P.I.N., anywhere.

The symbol Carol mentions is like a sideways WiFi symbol. It's really common now—even my 10-branch local bank in a rural area has it on their debit cards. And you can use it at most shops here at home to get familiar using it.

'Chip and Signature' cards will still work without tap, and confuse cashiers and waiters who will have to go find a pen. In fact, contactless payment has transaction limits, and exceding them will require use as chip&sig (varies by country and card type—mostly 50-100 euros).

I used a Capital One credit card in Paris restaurants. Why wouldn't the chip and signature credit card not be accepted? I never had any problems in Paris, be in the hotel or restaurants. No PIN was asked for.

"...only for cash advantages." The answer is incomplete as regards to Germany. You're going to Germany? You use a US credit card chip and signature at the DB ticket machine without the PIN your transaction will not go through. I indicated my credit card's PIN using the keypad to complete the transaction. No PIN, no purchase.

You know, there’s still “swipe and sign,” for the really “old-school” (three or four years ago) cards that haven’t been converted by the card issuer to a “chip” version. One place in Cape Town swiped our card in the reader, rather than inserting it chip-end-first, because that’s the type of card reader they had. It was hand-held, not a box sitting on the counter, but it still processed the VISA, before spitting out a slip to be signed.

Chip and signature will work when there is a person.

It is unmanned locations where you may have a problem. Some automatic machines will take chip and signature and some won’t.

Most places have been contactless on my current Spain trip, but a few have been insert the card. The card I’m using is also a CapOne card so if yours isn’t contactless enabled, request a new card. I’ve actually been to two places that only accepted cash.

The only person I have seen sign for a card purchase in the past decade was an American student last week in the gift shop at the Bayeux tapestry. I would imagine that many smaller places may not be able to handle such a card.

Chip and signature are fine in Europe. They still have the machines and you just slide your card in. Don't worry. I used my chip and signature in Spain and never had an issue.

No problem. We use our US cards six months a year, living in Europe. Whenever the bill exceeds the tap limit, we sign. Not a big deal. Not a problem. No one panics. No frantic pen searches. Don't be concerned, but it is time to request a card with tap capabilities.

We use our credit cards overtime we go overseas.

One thing, when visiting Scandinavia, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, be sure you tell the teller or waitress signature since our cards won't work with the PIN.

Our credit cards have the contactless payment option, so in the vast majority of places, we were able to just tap to pay -- if you have time, I would try to get a card that has the tap-to-pay option. That said, my brother did not have that option on his credit card and had to use the chip and signature. He was never asked for a PIN.

The only place where I had to insert my card to pay (no contactless option) was the Paris metro ticket machines. However, while they asked for a PIN, the transaction actually went through a second later so I never had to enter it ¯_(ツ)_/¯ (this happened every time I bought metro tickets).

I have used the PIN on my VISA card even though the customer service rep told me that it would be considered a "cash advance," but it never was for transaction in Europe. So go ahead and use the PIN if your European transaction requires it. Or, if you have Apple Pay or Google Pay on your smartphone, use that instead.

At one point I got a true chip and pin card to use in Europe from Andrews FCU. I didn't really use it because working with the credit union was like banking in the '70's, everything had to be done by printing, physically signing and mailing forms.

I have tap cards now but haven't used them in Europe yet. Are they working there?

As others have said, chip and signature isn't especially difficult to use in restaurants, museums or anywhere a person is present.

I have had difficulty using my cards at automated cashiers like toll booths, metro ticket machines and gas stations but I always seem to figure something out.

I used my Capital One card in Amsterdam and all over a Italy for 3 weeks now. Almost everyone uses contactless payments so have been tapping the card and using ApplePay. I have used the chip a few times and only had to sign once. The only issue I had was with Autostrade toll booths in Tuscany as it wouldn’t take my card. I pushed the button, mentioned contactless and a receipt came out. A few days later I paid it online. After that I made sure I could access cash for the tolls.

We used a “tap” card around France for our trip in May. The only time we required a signature was if the amount was over 50euro (so one of the restaurants told us).. never was asked for a pin.