Chip and PIN credit cards in Spain

If your CC is signature primary, PIN secondary the cash advance and purchase PIN are the same. You need to find someone at the bank who knows about the CC they provide (may be hard to do) .

This was from the credit card company themselves.

My response is based on my last trips there in 2017 and 2019. Back then it was chip and signature. I never needed a PIN for a credit card, only the atm. My cards did come with a PIN, and only once years ago did I need it. My guess is contactless has taken off since Covid.

My CC is PIN secondary. Where needed in Europe (kiosks, train/metro ticket machines) the PIN worked.

My statement on bank personnel knowing about PIN usage also applies to the CC company personnel. Since every bank can have a different version of their card, they may not know the particulars of your card.

We recently returned from Spain
We used our Capital One chip credit card. Just tap. I joked that it was too easy to spend money. At home we sometimes have to sign but we never did there. That was our experience.

Dear JayKay

Yes, to the best of my knowledge you should have a Personal Identification Number (PIN) for each card you hold. Bob is spot on with his comment. The one PIN does all. Cash and purchase. The financial institutions staff are there to help and clearly explain how to use their products, not just sell you stuff. Do not let them put you off and give you a snow job. If possible, front the counter in person and insist on your consumer rights to comprehensively understand the product they have sold you and how they work to your advantage domestically and internationally. Yes, they have sold you a product. A contract with obligations.

I note from posts that you are into your sixty’s and so have earned the right to enjoy life and be looked after by your country. I hope the following about the security features design into the card may be of help. It appears to me individual countries have taken a different approach to protecting the card holder, customer, in the application of the inbuilt security features. European jurisdictions applications are like my own. Note this is about the card workings not forex.

The Chip. The chip on each of your cards is a microprocessor and holds information about the person to whom the card has been issued, that is you, together with information about the financial institution that issued the card. When the card is held near to the terminal, or RFID Reader, they and institution use Wi-Fi to talk to each other in digital language in a matter of milliseconds. They identify you and your accounts. Tap and Go in my jargon, contactless in your jargon.

Why the PIN. From most financial institution’s perspective, a PIN is an antifraud measure. From my perspective it is one of the best protections I have for my monies. I and only I should know it. Far more than just a way to withdraw money at home and make purchases. Domestically any transaction over $200 or withdrawal of any monies requires my authorisation in the form of the PIN entry at the terminal/ATM. The card has limited use to any thief without the all-important PIN. The technology is EMV. An internet search will flesh out the way it works, why and the protocols and international standards involved. Not difficult, it is not rocket science. Also, not using a PIN maybe a way for the card issuer to deny liability for monies fraudulently obtained. You may/should need to carefully read and comprehend the terms and conditions you signed up for.

Security point. A 4-digit PIN gives 10,000 combinations (0 through 9, 10⁴). Easier to forge your signature, which you should have entered on the back of card, than it is to guess a PIN. Assuming anyone checks a signature these days. Signatures were/are a weak point in the transaction. 6-digit PIN gives (10⁶) 1,000,000 possibilities. Most cards will cease to function after 3 failed attempts to crack the PIN. This is for your protection.

My suggestion is to get accustomed to using your cards with PINs in your everyday domestic transactions where possible. Then overseas may seem closer to what happens at home, and you might be comfortable and confident and understand which card to use for your circumstances. Some trial and error to be anticipated.

It must be conceded that your financial institutions, merchants, and legislators have been rather reticent in applying the inbuilt security measures Chip and Pin technology offers in everyday life. Has in turn made simple transaction rather difficult when one is oversees. I do not know why, as from a business point of view large productivity gains have been made in countries who have eagerly adopted this technology.

This might be of interest. In Oz it has been mandated, since 1st Aug 2014, that all credit cards are supplied have a Chip (a microprocessor) and PIN, with the financial institution providing an initial 4-digit number which could be changed later by the card holder (me). Just before this came in, I was issued with an American Express Chip and PIN to replace the old signature one I had. All my other cards had been chip and pin for some years. The same mandate applied to debt cards supplied from 2015. Signatures were no longer an acceptable part of the transaction as they were a weak security measure. All C/C and Debit cards have been contactless since then. Normal part of life’s activities. Though the majority have progressed to using digital wallets on our mobile phones. They work in a similar fashion.

Regards
Ron

The only “PIN” number I ever get asked for with my credit card is my billing ZIP code especially at gas stations.

As Carol said— Just tap.

I have chip cards and they worked fine. I didn't use it at gas stations so I don't know but every grocery store and tourist attraction worked fine.