We will be traveling to Prague, Nuremburg, Regensburg, Passau Germany, Vienna Austria, Budapest, London in December. I generally use a PIN that begins with 0 on my ATM & Credit Cards - but went to setup a new pin and it said in some countries you can't start with zero.
Does anybody know anything about this. Certainly don't want to get stuck without a credit card or ATM card I can use.
It's hard to answer this sort of question, since each individual bank can set up its ATMs with any rules it wants to use (at the risk of annoying customers, of course). I can only say that if I had read such advice and were setting up a new card, I would heed it, on the principle of "better safe than sorry".
Not starting with a zero on the pin number is really an urban legend. Zeros have been fine for decades but the story persists. You cannot use alpha in Europe because there are no letters on the key pad. So if using alpha in your pin just remember the numeric equivalent. On the other hand if you are concerned then set up a new pin without a beginning zero. This isn't rocket science. Just don't forget the new number.
I just used my credit card in Europe about 10 times, in Austria Germany France and Switzerland. It was a chip and pin card, but never needed the pin ever.
I used my Local Credit Union ATM card inside a bank ATM in Strasbourg France to pull out money, and used my PIN there only. So you may not need the PIN, but it's better to heed the rules of that set up.
My mother in Italy has an Italian debit/ATM card with a 5 digit PIN starting with zero.
I'm pretty sure it would work in all other EU countries.
I think the "PIN can't be starting with zero" story is just myth, fake news.
Thank you - not sure why Capital One said that when I went to change it on my credit card. I selected another pin but on my other credit cards and atm cards they have different pins - all starting with zero.
Rick used to report that in Italy you might have trouble if your PIN began with a zero. One of our debit cards has a PIN that begins with a zero, and I have never had any trouble (because of the PIN; we have had occasional problems, but for other reasons) in Italy, England, Netherlands, France... and the US, of course.
I didn't ask advice, I just put in my new PIN code and the automated reply said that many places outside the US and Canada don't accept CC with PINs starting with 0. Then asked if I wanted to change my PIN. I did on this one but haven't yet on my other credit cards and ATM cards.
I travel with a Schwab debit card with a PIN starting with "0" -- no problems in France, Italy, Austria, Germany in 2017, or prior years.
one of my cards starts with a zero; I've used it all over Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Monaco, Switzerland, and the Netherlands wth no issue whatsoever. Of course it works in the UK, too.
I think it is an issue with banks and other large institution where the best default answer is "no." If they said it was OK (yes) and you had a problem, you would sue them for the whole cost of your trip. Far easier and safer to say no.
As with most urban legends there is a tiny kennel of truth buried in the myth. Eons ago when bank cards and ATMs first entered the market, the zero was reserved for some special functions by the bank. Didn't last long because consumers would accidentally enter zero and freeze the ATM. But the myth continues.
And if it worries you, don't use zero.
I've heard the same about having a number starting with zero. I haven't paid much attention because I've never had a PIN that started with zero.
In previous trips I've traveled with credit cards that had PIN numbers. In reality they were chip and signature cards because invariably the machine would say "signature required" and the clerk would ask me to sign a sales slip. Only rarely, maybe one time in two hundred, would someone not be able to figure out the process and I'd generally pay cash. I've also noticed automated train/metro ticket machines would reject my PIN but issue the ticket(s) anyway.
Before my last trip I got an Andrews FCU credit card that was supposed to be a true chip and pin card. In some cases, it functioned that way. In train stations, it would ask my PIN then say the PIN was good and give me a ticket. In others, it functioned like a chip and signature card. Virtually every grocery store or shop required a signature. I couldn't get it to work at an automated gas station (but I only tried it once). It worked at almost every toll booth (they don't ask for a PIN) except one where none of my cards worked and I had to use cash.
Those places where I have had to indicate my pin when using my chip and signature credit card in London and Germany have been at transport ticket machines. No problems in effecting the transaction. I never take a pin # starting with zero, if assigned to me, I have it changed, too hard to remember the pin #.
Until recently I had an ATM card that started with 00, and I used it many times in Europe, and it always worked.
My understanding is that the myth began when European "PINs" were alphabetic (there are now no letters on the 0 key. When I was a kid Z (Zenith) was on the zero key. Now 9 has wxy&z.)
