British Expatriate Network

Having just returned from Christmas in Blighty, there was a lot of fuss about chip & PIN cards and how they are going to be compulsory from February 15th 2006. I tried asking my main credit card company what they thought of this and they said the US was doing an RFID thing and I could apply for one of those cards at the following link...

Great.

Didn't read the question did they?

So, do any of the US cards have chips and PINs that work in the UK card readers? The only card I have that has a chip is an AMEX Blue with a derisory $1500 limit that I never used after the first bill arrived and I saw how little they trust me. Funny thing is that they let me spend something like $5k in one month on the regular green AMEX card.

It would be funny if the only way I could spend money in the UK next time was with cash or traveler's checks.

Someone on here is a Chip and Pin expert, and so was my sister, I believe, in a previous career incarnation. I'll alert them to your question...

Thank you. From some perspectives we live in a third world country.

Wells Fargo are very proud of their stage coaches - I think they still use them to move cheques around the country :wink:

Pilgrim, you are so right lol lol lol

lol

Citibank issued a card with a chip in it a few years back, but last year they decided to give up on them.

Chip and pin cards were the big thing when we were in Holland in 1999-2000 but we didn't have one so used cash.

I have been able to use my bank debit card in the UK in ATM's and in stores with no problems at all! Is this what you mean?

Thicko-me regards.......

Debs x ??? lol

The theory is that soon you won't be able to because the machines will only accept cards with Chips. Or something like that.

My cousin had one of those cards with the chip in it and he hadn't had it that long when the chip started to fall out. Can't see them becoming the norm when they aren't that great.

I noticed they were expected when I bought some comics and gift cards in WHSmith, in Britain back in September. The basic, US credit card I handed over seemed to cause a few moments of struggle for the cashier as she looked for the chip.

Still, it went through fine although I wonder why my UK bank (First Direct) doesn't issue me with a chip card for ATM or credit card, if they are so popular there.

What I was told in WH Smith's, Marks and Spencer and the local Shell station was that from February 15th they will only accept chip and PIN cards. So regardless of the experience anyone has had with them before they are about to become the only game in town in the UK.

I couldn't find anything on the Chip and PIN web site http//www.chipandpin.co.uk/ that addressed the use of foreign cards at UK vendors.

From the chip and pin site

.......You can continue to use non-chip and PIN cards in all outlets, and you will be asked to sign for goods, just as you always have done.

So we are okay then??

I expect I'll find out in August, but I expect other people will go there between late Feb and then.

I actually worked for a massive financial association in the UK and was on the chip implementation team. The mandate in the UK is only for UK issued cards to be accepted via the chip and PIN route, rather than via the mag stripe. This is a domestic fraud reduction issue. Cards from other countries that are non-chip and are presented at UK merchants will continue to be honoured and the transaction will be processed via the mag stripe. So, even though the US is not moving to chip and PIN (it may be moving to contactless chip - RFID - but that's a whole different kettle of fish) you will still be able to use your US credit cards in the UK.

That is, if the shop workers have been trained properly which always seems to be the biggest issue

Chip and PIN Geek regards wink