Credit card PIN

Depending on the spending limits in Greece, you may need to input your pin for purchases.

In Greece, as throughout EU, the maximum amount for a contactless payment (tap to pay) without entering a PIN is 50 € per transaction. You may also be asked to enter your PIN if you accumulate more than 150 € in consecutive contactless purchases.

I have used my credit cards numerous times over many trips and didn't need to have a PIN assigned to my card.

However, these have been for small transactions like a meal, gifts or souvenirs. etc. so didn't "tap" when making the purchase.

Usually the clerk takes your card and runs it through the machine to verify purchase.

I pre-booked all my accommodations and car rentals with my card prior to the trip.

I am in Greece right now. Have been here for about 2 weeks. My spouse and I have used multiple credit cards for routine purchases up to about €200/transaction. We’ve paid for gas, meals, car rentals (including the deposit), ferry tickets, gelato, etc. with both Visa and Mastercards. No mention of a PIN ever (at least so far). I think most (maybe all?) transactions were tap-to-pay. Not an issue for us (on Rhodes and Crete). Hotels and flights were prepaid.

Been to Europe 3 times in 4 years. Used the tap-to-pay and the card, Never a request for a pin. Only need a pin to get cash from the bankomat.

Using your physical card, you will be able to tap up to a 50 euro purchase. Over that, you likely will be asked to insert the card and sign a slip.

If you load your card to your phone, and tap using your phone, then you likely will not exceed a Dollar/euro limit, the security features on your phone take the place of a PIN.

Very likely, even if you ask, you cannot get a PIN for purchases for your credit card. You can easily get a PIN, but it will only be for getting a cash advance at an ATM, not for purchases (Though, having a PIN for cash advances is a good emergency back-up resource). If you want to check, go here: https://www.spotterswiki.com/emv/ and enter basic information about your card, if a PIN is in the column headed "CVM List" then you can, if not, then no.

A comment about having to use a PIN after so many euros of purchase. This is an EU regulation, but it only applies to the banks, not the merchants. So if your card is from a US bank, there is no cumulative limit.

A PIN, even if you need to find a card that offers one, is handy. Probably not needed for the casual traveler. but the more you travel, it can help. The big concerns are unattended kiosks for tickets or fuel pumps, where the total is over 50 euros, or no tap-to-pay. Also helpful is having 3DS for online transactions (Another EU requirement). Again, many European websites work around it for US credit cards, but not all.

In short, you should be fine, if a PIN is needed, there are usually work arounds, mainly signing a slip, going to a manned point of sale, tapping where available, and using your phone for tap.

Hi, another reason the PIN advice is in the tour materials for all tours--not just Greece--is in the rare, emergency case that you'd need to use your credit card at an ATM for a cash advance. I know that's not as applicable in this day and age as it was 10 or 20 years ago, but I have a hunch it's language that's a bit of a holdover.

Have a good trip!

Thanks for all the great information. At this point I'm planning enter a card into Google Pay on my phone, and use that if necessary. Otherwise just tap and pay for most things. All the big purchases are prepaid. Thanks again

Most PINs for US cards are only for cash withdrawal for ATM's.

If for some reason my contactless payments--Google Pay--don't work, and I have to use my physical card, I'm asked to sign a payment slip.

Never had a problem not having a PIN.

And I spend 6-8 months in Europe every year and have been doing this for years.