How prevalent is the use of chip&pin cards in Portugal? Are they now the norm for restaurants hotels, shops?
Last time we were in Europe they were mostly required for unattended ticket machines and self- serve gas stations.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8126 posts
Not much has changed. All of Europe uses the Chip and Pin as standard, but they still make an exception for Chip and Signature, I doubt at this time there are any only mag strip cards, if that is where you are at, I would shop for a new card.
What has changed, as a result of the pandemic, is the dollar amount for transactions using no more than the chip or RFID signal has been increased some. Tap to Pay specifically is more common, and using that, no PIN entry is required. There may be upper limits though as to what is accepted without a PIN. If your card has something that looks like a WiFi symbol on it, it is Tap to Pay capable.
But yes, to your original question, higher dollar amounts at unattended kiosks, pumps, and ticket machines still require a PIN.
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1826 posts
I haven’t had to use my PIN with my credit card in a long time. It’s the tap to pay at 90%+ of the places I use mine. I do occasionally have to slide it through the machine but not usually. Many more places accept credit cards in recent years. It’s almost (but not quite) as prevalent as in the US these days.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10675 posts
Europe taps nowadays, unless it's over 50€. Chip cards became the norm in Europe in the 1990s, way before the US.
Posted by
Germany
32 posts
As said its usually tap and pay here, works even with amounts over 50€ the machine will just ask for a pin. Also everywhere where you can tap you can also use apple/google/whatever pay. Yes even if it doesn't say so.