Pin and chip ATM debit card coming soon from Charles Schwab Bank

Since regular mag stripe debit cards work just fine at ATMs, I don't see the advantage of a chip and pin one. But I never make purchases with the debit card anyway, only use it to get cash.

True, most all cash machines in Europe will take a mag stripe card.

Which ones won't -- maybe not the first card, but I've never had a double dud?

For those of us without a chip/pin credit card (like me) it'd be useful for irregular purchases where a swipe credit card and cash won't do the trick.

Interesting article from the Los Angeles Times regarding the pin and chip, http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-sams-club-credit-card-microchip-20140604-story.html

The article Kimberly posted doesn't say that these will be chip and pin cards, only that they will have a chip. I personally have never seen a bank ATM that was not associated with one of the major networks. I still don't see the advantage of a chipped debit card.

But no one has yet proven that a chipped debit card will work in an unmanned location such as you are describing. And I really don't understand the statement that her card would only work in Cirrus machines, since Cirrus and Mastercard are the same company. Since it was a Mastercard, it was also a Cirrus card. Her complaint was against Capital One, not against mag stripe cards, anyway.

The debit cards will definitely work for gas stations, toll roads, Mètro purchases, SNCF (train ticket) purchases. . . . All those unmanned but frequent transactions where you're out of luck without a chip-and-pin. I say that because most of the cards that we have here in France are debit cards tied to our checking accounts.

But I never make purchases with the debit card anyway

We too have the Schwab Bank ATM/Debit/Visa card and we use the Visa feature often on our travels for hotel bills and other purchases. The Schwab Bank card is different. With an ordinary ATM card, you are limited in how much cash you can withdraw. Often, it's what you can withdraw at home. You are also limited on its use as a credit card. No so with the Schwab Bank card. The limit is what is in your account that the card is attached to. It's actually a mobile checkbook. Before we leave on vacation, we place enough cash in our Schwab Bank account to cover our travels. As we use our ATM or Visa feature, it immediately reduces our Schwab Bank account. We've paid $1,200 hotel bills and nary a problem. There are no fees (any fees are reimbursed) and in 2 years with the card, we have never received any type of Visa statement. No credit on this card. Again, it is attached to your Schwab bank account and your only limit is how much you have in the account. For us, it works great. Can't wait for the chip and pin.

I called Schwab today about this regarding an upcoming trip and they have confirmed that this is now available. I should be getting mine within the next week.

Yes, got an email from Schwab today offering the new card. Great! !

I called them up and requested a chip and pin card. The guy said no problem, we'll send one out to you and you should receive it in 5-7 days. It came in the mail a few days ago, but the documentation that came with it said it would use the chip and prompt for a signature. I talked to support and they said it is a "chip and choice," but that it should work with the unattended kiosks that require chip and pin. So I guess I'll find out for sure on my next trip.

Nancy, it's not just about getting local cash from ATMs. If you need to buy gasoline from an unattended station, or you want to skip a one-hour line for train tickets by using a machine ... or if you're in the Netherlands at something other than a hotel ... you NEED a chip-and-PIN card. America has no input into this. If you want to travel, you need this card. Target tried it ten years ago - stupidly gave it up because of U.S. consumer resistance - and lived to regret their stupidity.

I realize that some people need to avoid "credit" cards to keep their life straight. But I've been in all the situations I've listed in the first paragraph. Okay, if you only go on Rick's tours, maybe you don't need one.

^^ It's still very easy to get by with a regular magnetic stripe credit card. Even with a rental car.

Frankie - Most likely this card is a chip & signature priority with a PIN backup. That means that in the US it will almost always require a signature. When in Europe, it will likely automatically spit out a receipt for you to sign. But if it is an automated kiosk, you can enter your PIN.

udso, see this older thread:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/to-the-west/quot-real-quot-chip-pin-credit-card-for-holland

@udso-- A good friend of mine used her Bank of America chip and signature card at Dutch train ticket machines in September and it worked fine (she used her card's PIN number for the transaction). The Dutch train system has finally installed ticket machines that take foreign credit cards at most major stations--but the card has to have a chip.

There seems to be some significant confusion as to what is being discussed. For those of you that need clarification so that you can understand what uds0 is asking about, read the first ~10 paragraphs of this article down to where it refers to the "CVM list":

http://www.tsys.com/acquiring/engage/white-papers/Cardholder-Verification-Method.cfm

"required by offline terminals in many critical places in Europe like train station ticket machines"

Don't know about other countries, but last I tried it, Bahn ticket automats took strip cards. There is currently a turorial (in German) on the Bahn website for using the automats and it shows how to insert a strip card (strip down and to the right), so I think they still accept these cards.

Thanks WM. Interesting article. Now I know why I didn't get asked for my PIN when I bought a Zurich tram ticket out of the machine.

Lee said: Don't know about other countries, but last I tried it, Bahn ticket automats took strip cards.

The red DB kiosks in Munich accepted plain ol' US-style strip cards when I was there in August of this year. (The green MVV kiosks did not.)

When the red DB machine was processing the card it would ask for a PIN. When none was entered within a few seconds, it would just resume processing the transaction, and promptly delivered the tickets with no further fuss.

I just called Charles Schwab customer service (1-887-834-5626) and asked them if they had any plans to migrate to the secure European style "smart" or "giro"/"EC - electronic cash" cards with a chip in their debit cards. The service agent said yes they did, and actually since July 2014 they have been issuing these new debit cards. Since my card does not expire until 2015, they are issuing me one now per my request.

I am no longer living in Europe (2010-2014), but over the years it became increasingly more of a burden to not have one of these "EC" cards. In Germany credit cards are often not accepted, so I usually lived on a "cash economy" by pulling money out of a nearby ATM with my Charles Scwab debit card. I found several places where ONLY EC (direct debit cards + PIN) cards could be used to make payment -- i.e. Cash and Credit are NOT an option: parking meters, train ticket terminals (France, Italy especially), ski resort lift tickets (surprisingly no credit!), unattended gas stations (huge in Italy, especially on weekends), etc In these situations I had to pay someone in cash to use their EC card to make the payment for me -- which is very frustrating.

I am no longer in Europe, but I hope someone could please verify the new Charles Schwab smart debit card actually is a "chip and pin" and works at these "EC only" terminals???