Chip credit card

Not if you use it as a credit card. Only if you use it as an ATM debit card.

Start by finding out if your card is chip&signature or chip&pin. Most US issued cards are chip&signature and the PIN they give you is just for cash advances at an ATM (usually a bad idea anyway).

If it is chip&pin they you likely need it if you want to use it at any unattended machine such as buying train tickets.

I have a chip and signature card with a PIN. It does work at unattended kiosks / pumps that require a PIN. No, you are not charged for a cash withdrawal. It just appears on your credit card bill the same as any other CC purchase.

Hi Patricia,

Yes, often you do. I have the old magnetic strip Visa card and a new chip embedded MasterCard. I have PIN numbers for both and often when I go to pay for something, I'm prompted to enter a PIN or the transaction won't go through. If you are in a restaurant or shop with a cashier, they can often run the card without a PIN, but it's becoming increasingly harder. If you don't have a PIN, don't worry, It's easy to get, just contact your credit card company and they can send you one.

I recommend reading this article by Rick regarding Chip and PIN cards:
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/money/chip-pin-cards

hope that helps!

Rich's answer isn't completely accurate. Many US credit cards do not have PIN's that are valid for purchases, only for ATM use. If your card didn't come with a PIN, then a PIN you request is likely to be intended for ATM use. However, sometimes an "ATM" PIN will work in an automatic machine or kiosk but it depends on several factors and can be hit or miss. Sometimes the card will work without entering a PIN or even entering random 4 digits.

Just about any tourist oriented business will be able to process a chip card with a signature. You might have to say "No PIN" when giving them the card so they know to push the button for a receipt to sign. In some non-tourist businesses, the clerk may not know how to process a signature transaction or the system might not be set up for it.

While it's true that PIN numbers are intended for cash withdrawal's here in the U.S. and not needed for other purchases, it is often true that you need them for both in Europe. I travel to Europe for about 2 months every year and In my personal experience, I have had to enter the PIN quite often when making a purchase. Many times the cashier or store clerk doesn't know how to process transactions the old way (printing receipts for signature). I was in Sweden in July and there was a poor guy trying to check out of the hotel but unable to pay with his credit card because he didn't know the PIN. Luckily, there was an ATM in the lobby and he was able to use his debit card to withdraw local currency and pay with cash. 99% of the time, knowing your credit card's PIN works fine. The exceptions I have found have been gas stations and toll booths on the Autostradas. In these situations, I pay with cash (€).

I won't discredit your experiences Rich, but in my experience, it is extremely rare for a clerk/waiter in a tourist oriented business to not know how to process a signature card. Not completely unheard of, but pretty rare. There are a few exceptions where the system only allows for PIN verification even with a non-kiosk transaction: the Netherlands train stations is a common one. It is indeed harder when one gets off the beaten tourist path or in places like grocery stores.

It is also certainly a very good idea to get a PIN, even if just for an emergency way to get cash. But Americans have been using chip and signature cards (and magnetic strip cards) for years in Europe with few hassles outside of automated machines.

Not all US banks set up their PINs to allow for verification of purchases. Some banks specifically state that their PIN can be used as a secondary purchase verification in the event a signature cannot be obtained. But others make it clear that the PIN is intended for cash advances only (but still might work depending on the machine used). Depending on her card's issuer, Patricia might get a PIN and it still won't work for her when a PIN only is required.

Douglas,

The example you provided about train stations in the Netherlands is a good one. Last time I was at Amsterdam Central, even the staffed ticket windows would only accept full EMV cards. The inexorable conversion to full C&P seems to be continuing, so the situation for those with old fashioned magnetic stripe cards is only going to worsen.

I'm assuming the slow transition to EMV cards is in fact taking place in the U.S.? When is that supposed to happen? I can't believe it's taken the banks this long to "get with the program".

Unbelievably, the EMV conversion in the US is complete for only about 1/3 of merchants. https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-credit-card-chip-ninjas/ A pin system in the US is highly unlikely as other technologies are on the horizon.

I've found that the attendants at some chains of Italian gas stations are often unable to process a credit card of any type. The customer must use the kiosk that takes chip-and-pin / Bancomat / cash or va via.

YES! In order to use your card in any ticket (train, bus, tram, etc.) vending machine, it MUST be a chipped card (chip & PIN or chip & signature) and you will be prompted for the PIN. And while most "staffed" ticket counters are capable of running a card the old way, they often cop a rather large attitude. I've even seen them refuse to do so (claiming equipment down) and falling into "no English mode."

BTW - both my MC chip & signature card and my MC (true) chip & PIN card worked just fine in every train, bus, tram ticket machine attempted in Venice, Padua, Vicenza, Florence, Pisa, Lucca and Rome.

"...both my MC chip & signature card and my MC (true) chip & PIN card worked just fine in every train, bus, tram ticket machine attempted in Venice, Padua, Vicenza, Florence, Pisa, Lucca and Rome."

I had a different experience with unattended machines in Barcelona last month. I was able to buy metro tickets with no problem with a chip and pin card (I was prompted for PIN entry) but another American tourist at an adjoining machine could not with his chip and signature card.

There is always lots of confusion when the topic of EMV (chip) cards comes up. Admittedly, US banks have not made it easy to understand.

First, there is no such thing as a "full EMV" card. EMV is the official term for a chip card and a card either has a chip or it does not. Almost all US issued credit cards have been converted to chips. The link provided by one of the posters is about merchants using the chip card processing system - not about banks issuing chip cards. And the OP, Patricia, has a chip card.

In the US, banks are issuing chip cards with signature as the primary means of transaction verification. This is in contrast to most of the rest of the world, which uses a PIN as the means for verification. You insert your card, you enter your PIN, your transaction is approved. US chip cards require you to sign (electronically or a paper receipt). A few US cards do issue a PIN that serves as a secondary verification system in cases where a receipt signature is not possible - such as a kiosk. But not all cards do. If you do have such a card, using it in Europe is very easy as the PIN will work for just about any type of purchase system (although usually you'll still be asked to sign).

But most US chip credit cards do not have a secondary PIN verification. If you do ask for a PIN, the bank has it set up for cash advance in ATMs only. But this is where is gets more confusing: sometimes that "ATM" PIN will work for purchases. Why? A variety of reasons but there are two main ones. One is that your card may be set to automatically approve purchases below a certain dollar amount (say $50). The second is that the machine system processing your transaction may be set to automatically approve a non-PIN card. But you may still need to enter a PIN into the machine for it to process the transaction. That's why some people have reported entering a random 4 digit PIN and it still works.

And there is no common answer on whether a PIN is needed or not, especially for auto kiosks. Different merchants, different processing systems, different cards all have unique results. But tourist oriented businesses that deal with American credit cards all the time typically have systems and clerks that know how to process a signature transaction. There are a few exceptions. The Netherlands trains stations require a chip and PIN card even at ticket windows (a chip and signature card won't work unless it has a secondary transaction PIN). And in Italy, they are notorious for often not wanting to accept credit cards even when their business signage says they do (this is a cultural/financial thing, not a EMV card issue). Businesses that rarely see an American probably won't be prepared to process a chip and signature card. Acceptance of chip and signature cards can also vary by country.

So the best answer for Patricia's question is that getting a PIN is a good idea and may help at times. But there is a good chance she will never need it when using regular people-to-people transactions. And there is a good chance that it won't work in a kiosk or gas pump. She can always try the PIN if prompted, but be prepared that it might not work. And sometimes you have to tell a clerk to process the transaction with a receipt. Some machines automatically spit out a receipt to sign, others need to have a button pushed for that to happen.

Just returned from Italy, Slovenia and France.

Chip with signature (the current standard for most any US based credit card) worked perfectly fine 95% of the time.
Even if my card has a pin it defaults to signature first so the pin is useless other than for ATM withdrawals, this is true for all of our cards and I think the standard for US based cards.

Any restaurant, general store, etc... accepts the card as a chip card and makes you sign a receipt even for minor purchases.
I charged whenever possible, even a couple of Euro.
Some places have minimums (10 / 20 euro place dependent)

A few restaurants claimed there machines were down so we paid cash but this was not because of our card type and maybe a "story" they say every day.
A couple of hotels had a cash only or non-working machine as well but I had prepayed via credit card at those places so no issues there for us.
The "city tax" required at each hotel or B&B was usually stated it had to be paid in cash some at check in, others at check out.

Only issue I had was at toll booths. Worked on some and others would not and had to pay cash.
These were most always unmanned.
Some of the toll booths they have credit only lanes with shorter lines but I had to avoid them not knowing if it would work.

Gas Stations were the only other problem: If an attendee was not there your signature cards will NOT work.
This was mainly an issue for me around lunch time as all gas stations close for a couple of hours for lunch which is crazy that not one stays open to get business from the others when there are 4 on the same block.
Had to pay cash and when had to return the car full overpay by 21 Euro and was unable to get the cash back.
Put 80 euro in the machine and only needed 59 euro to fill it to the top, my bad should have fed 60 euro into the machine only.
I could have driven back to the station an hour later to get a refund when they were not closed.

A couple of other places with automated food machines did not work but at the cash register you could complete your transaction with signature card no problem and all automated ticket type machines worked no problem in Italy and France.