ATM Card Pin Numbers

This myth seems to surface regularly. It might have been true back in the early, early days of ATMs, but it isn't true now. Two of my three debit cards' PINs start with 0 and the other one has a zero in the number. What IS true is that you must have a four digit PIN, numbers only (European ATMs don't have letters on the keys like we do).

I don't know of any banks in the US that let you use actual alphabet letters in your pin (though there may be some) but rather the common thing is that people memorize their number by a phrase or a name (KARA=5272 for example). This is what turns into a problem, as the ATMs do not have letters on them. Just make sure you know the actual number, and you shouldn't have a problem.

Gary, A more important factor is that your travel funds must usually be in a chequing account (assuming that's the "primary account" designated by your Bank). European ATM's don't often provide a choice between accounts, and normally draw from a chequing account. Having a "backup" ATM card is also a really good idea. Happy travels!

Thanks, everyone. I've never had a problem either, and ATMs are always the best way to obtain money overseas. However, many pronouncements on this site continue to suggest otherwise. Thanks for the reassurance.

'many pronouncements on this site continue to suggest otherwise' Look at the source. Just because it's written down doesn't mean it's true.

I am also pretty sure, that there is no problem with PIN numbers and zero. Here is why: Here in Denmark, for security reasons, PIN numbers of debit cards are assigned randomly by the card issuer and can not be changed by the consumer. Also, the consumer has no influence on the assigned PIN number. A cardholder can however request that the PIN number of a new card is the same as the previous card, if the previous card expired. If the previous card was was stolen, you can't request the same PIN, again for security reasons. The card holder can also request that several cards issued by the same bank have same PIN numbers, but again, he cannot choose this number himself. Danish banks issue cards with PIN numbers starting with zero. I know, since I once had a PIN number starting with zero assigned myself. Since the numbers are random, one in ten Danish debit card will have a PIN number starting with a zero. And since almost all cards are Co-branded with VISA and are used all around Europe and the world, my conclusion is that PIN numbers definitely can start ith a zero. And furthermore, I never had problems with my card with a PIN number starting with a zero.

I have a couple of recent travel books (last 5 years) that repeat this apparent myth. And I repeated it until corrected a few days ago. I first used an ATM card in the UK more than 20 years ago, but I can't remember if there were zeroes on the keypad.

Of course there were zeros on the keypad - how else could you have withdrawn $100 (or $50, or $200)?