Just got back from a 11 day trip to Spain. I traveled with my wife and two other persons. Before we left I told the other two persons to make sure their PIN was a number. Of course they didn't listen and had a hard time at some of the ATMs in Barcelona because their PIN was a word. They were starting to worry about not having access to cash. Luckily they went inside a bank and talked to someone who helped them translate their PIN to the bank's ATM keypad.
Posted by
Anaheim, CA, USA
1455 posts
Great chuckle!! That is just a lesson learned for your friends!
Also for those who do not have a 4 digit PIN, make sure it does NOT begin with a zero.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19284 posts
"make sure it does NOT begin with a zero".
I think that is an "urban myth". From a programing standpoint, '0' is just another character, ASCII 48 (30 hex). I have a card with a PIN starting in 00, and it has always worked in Europe.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23642 posts
That is what I always thought. But yesterday I received my renewed Citigroup (VISA Platinum) with instructions for resetting the PIN number. The instruction include a prohibition against using "0" as the first digit. Had never seen that before. I am inclined to think that avoiding a 0 maybe be a good idea. Why create potential problems.
Posted by
Elk Grove, CA, USA
6898 posts
Mine begins with a zero and it works just fine in Europe. Just make sure that it's not larger than 4 numbers and contains no letters. The European keypads don't have letters on them.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA, USA
2792 posts
My pin that starts with a zero has worked over the past year in Croatia, London, Paris and Costa Rica. I think the zero issue is old and no longer applies.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
I agree with the others. My PIN begins with a zero and I have successfully used it in Ireland, the UK, Spain, and China in the past few years.