credit cards in Europe

My sister who lives in England but travels alot said that as of the middle of January or so, you will need this chip in the credit cards and a PIN number to use them. Has ]anyone heard of this. My daughter leaves for a 5 week trip on Dec 26, and we are trying to get the info. This %26quot;chip%26quot; is a foil like square less thana inch square that appears on some of may cards and not on others, eve the ones just received. When we called American Express, who has this chip on cards, they knew nothing about it. Is this some sort of new thing that is nt that widely known outside of Europe?

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It%26#39;s an *new* thing - EMV

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMV

But not yet compulsory. Also not from the middle of January on. I%26#39;m not sure if there is any fixed date yet, when this system will fully replace the magnetic stripe on credit cards.

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I%26#39;ve read about this chip in a newspaper, but I never saw it on any credit card here in Germany.

However in France, Portugal and Sweden I sometimes needed the ATM-PIN-Code to pay at shops instead of the signature. I looked a little confused after having been asked for this code the first time, but it works properly.

In Germany on many debit-cards you have such a chip, but this belongs to a unloved system that trys to compete with cash for smaller bills.

But remember that credit cards, especially AE or DINERS, are not accepted in most restaurants, smaller shops and almost all supermarcets.

Philipp

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The so-called Chip-and-Pin has been in use in Ireland for almost a year. It is supposed to counteract credit card and identity fraud. Ir is better than the old style credit card but probably not completely safe. Is American Express that much out of date?

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Instead of handing over your card during a transaction and signing a paper slip in the UK we have had chip and pin since Jan 05. Some gas stations allow you to still sign if you dont know your pin - but after 1st Feb 06 that it. Dont know your pin - you cant purchase the goods. Its worked well in France and Ireland for quite some time and has really countered fraud. The important thing is not to forget your card. Some businesses you hand over a card (supermakets) and some places with glass screens like post offices and banks you have to remember to take the card. In Spain you must have id when using a credit card or debit card - since UK citizens are not required to carry id cards, I show them my driving license. In Germany there are many places that wont accept non-german cards. In restaurants check before you are taken to your table as it ruined my evening once on a cold winters night having to leave my wife in a restaurant and go looking for a ATM. ATMs on Friday and Saturday night seem to run out of cah in many places - in particular at Christmas.