Discussion
Debit cards we use chip & PIN. Credit cards are still on signature. Needless to say credit card fraud is at a high level.
Quite why we use chip & PIN for debit cards and not credit cards when they generally go through the same machine I don't know. hvaing been here for 2 years I suspcet it comes down to fees payable by the retailers / banks.
Quite why we use chip & PIN for debit cards and not credit cards when they generally go through the same machine I don't know. hvaing been here for 2 years I suspcet it comes down to fees payable by the retailers / banks.
No problems, I've tried the card in a cash machine and it went through to the select service screen, it wouldn't let me check the balance as it's a pre paid credit card but I assume it wouldn;t let me through to the screen if the numbers are wrong. Just don't want to end up in the US with no money 
Strange they don't use the chip and pin for credit cards, it's been here for years.
Strange they don't use the chip and pin for credit cards, it's been here for years.Yep I'm puzzled as to why we don't use it. The reading machines are in place at virtually every till I come across and I thought the whole angle was it cuts credit card fraud. In our time here we've had our original card cloned and about $3k spent. All of that could likely have been avoided (or at least made more difficult for the fraudster) by implementing chip & PIN for credit as well as debit cards.
I don't want to sound like a moaner. Living here has been a blast and honestly I'm not really looking forward to our time here ending at the end of next March
I don't want to sound like a moaner. Living here has been a blast and honestly I'm not really looking forward to our time here ending at the end of next March
No chips in any of my cards. My new CC from Chase looks so little like a CC that in the UK lately, it took some retailers some time to accept that it was a genuine CC! For the first time in Europe I actually found that people would not accept non-chip cards in some cases. US personal banking has a lot of catching up to do...
david968s said:
No chips in any of my cards. My new CC from Chase looks so little like a CC that in the UK lately, it took some retailers some time to accept that it was a genuine CC! For the first time in Europe I actually found that people would not accept non-chip cards in some cases. US personal banking has a lot of catching up to do...
It certainly does. The widespread use of "checks". No chip and pin. Not being able to set up a direct debit into someone elses account - I am with HSBC, I tried to set up a monthly payment to my landlords account for rent - he is also with HSBC - answer from the bank was "no you can't do that here". Have to log onto Internet Banking and go through a process each and every month to mail him a sodding check! Everything seems really archaic compared to UK banking.EK993 said:
david968s said:
No chips in any of my cards. My new CC from Chase looks so little like a CC that in the UK lately, it took some retailers some time to accept that it was a genuine CC! For the first time in Europe I actually found that people would not accept non-chip cards in some cases. US personal banking has a lot of catching up to do...
It certainly does. The widespread use of "checks". No chip and pin. Not being able to set up a direct debit into someone elses account - I am with HSBC, I tried to set up a monthly payment to my landlords account for rent - he is also with HSBC - answer from the bank was "no you can't do that here". Have to log onto Internet Banking and go through a process each and every month to mail him a sodding check! Everything seems really archaic compared to UK banking.
Edited by Paul 8v on Friday 27th August 09:14
A collection of random thoughts on-and-around this topic:
I can make debit card payments using my PIN number, but as others have said it has no 'chip'. Weird.
On a similar topic, does anyone know why I always get asked "debit or credit?" by machines/retailers when making payments? The card is a debit card, NOT a credit card. Saying/selecting "credit" still seems to work though. I've not had a suitable explaination from an American for this.
A comment on banking being in the stone ages and fraud here - I was amazed to find that certain purchases can be made by card with no kind of authentication at all - no pin or signature. Just insert card and the payment is made. Car parks and petrol stations spring to mind as examples.
Something else too - I know Americans who don't sign their credit cards, citing security as the very reason not to sign it. How's that for twisted logic? Their theory is that if someone steals their card, they won't be able to forge their signature because they won't know what it looks like Trying to tell them that if someone steals the card they will simply write their own version of a signature on the card falls on deaf ears. As a result of having an un-signed card, when making purchases they sometimes have to provide ID with a signature that matches the name on the card. So they are more susceptible to fraud AND have additional hassle when buying stuff *rolls eyes*
Adam
I can make debit card payments using my PIN number, but as others have said it has no 'chip'. Weird.
On a similar topic, does anyone know why I always get asked "debit or credit?" by machines/retailers when making payments? The card is a debit card, NOT a credit card. Saying/selecting "credit" still seems to work though. I've not had a suitable explaination from an American for this.
A comment on banking being in the stone ages and fraud here - I was amazed to find that certain purchases can be made by card with no kind of authentication at all - no pin or signature. Just insert card and the payment is made. Car parks and petrol stations spring to mind as examples.
Something else too - I know Americans who don't sign their credit cards, citing security as the very reason not to sign it. How's that for twisted logic? Their theory is that if someone steals their card, they won't be able to forge their signature because they won't know what it looks like
Trying to tell them that if someone steals the card they will simply write their own version of a signature on the card falls on deaf ears. As a result of having an un-signed card, when making purchases they sometimes have to provide ID with a signature that matches the name on the card. So they are more susceptible to fraud AND have additional hassle when buying stuff *rolls eyes*Adam
adamfogerty said:
I can make debit card payments using my PIN number, but as others have said it has no 'chip'. Weird.
Same as we used to have in the UK.adamfogerty said:
On a similar topic, does anyone know why I always get asked "debit or credit?" by machines/retailers when making payments? The card is a debit card, NOT a credit card. Saying/selecting "credit" still seems to work though. I've not had a suitable explaination from an American for this.
This threw me in the US too - I was told some cards will do both and you choose which you want.adamfogerty said:
A comment on banking being in the stone ages and fraud here - I was amazed to find that certain purchases can be made by card with no kind of authentication at all - no pin or signature. Just insert card and the payment is made. Car parks and petrol stations spring to mind as examples.
You can do on some things here - M6 Toll payment springs to mind.adamfogerty said:
Something else too - I know Americans who don't sign their credit cards, citing security as the very reason not to sign it. How's that for twisted logic? Their theory is that if someone steals their card, they won't be able to forge their signature because they won't know what it looks like Trying to tell them that if someone steals the card they will simply write their own version of a signature on the card falls on deaf ears. As a result of having an un-signed card, when making purchases they sometimes have to provide ID with a signature that matches the name on the card. So they are more susceptible to fraud AND have additional hassle when buying stuff *rolls eyes*
I don't think they ever check the signature when you sign - normal drill is you hand your card over, they swipe it and then hand it back. Then you sign. Often it's on an electronic system and you sign a screen, but I don't suppose it's checked in real time, even for US customers. Trying to tell them that if someone steals the card they will simply write their own version of a signature on the card falls on deaf ears. As a result of having an un-signed card, when making purchases they sometimes have to provide ID with a signature that matches the name on the card. So they are more susceptible to fraud AND have additional hassle when buying stuff *rolls eyes*Deva Link said:
adamfogerty said:
Something else too - I know Americans who don't sign their credit cards, citing security as the very reason not to sign it. How's that for twisted logic? Their theory is that if someone steals their card, they won't be able to forge their signature because they won't know what it looks like Trying to tell them that if someone steals the card they will simply write their own version of a signature on the card falls on deaf ears. As a result of having an un-signed card, when making purchases they sometimes have to provide ID with a signature that matches the name on the card. So they are more susceptible to fraud AND have additional hassle when buying stuff *rolls eyes*
I don't think they ever check the signature when you sign - normal drill is you hand your card over, they swipe it and then hand it back. Then you sign. Often it's on an electronic system and you sign a screen, but I don't suppose it's checked in real time, even for US customers. Trying to tell them that if someone steals the card they will simply write their own version of a signature on the card falls on deaf ears. As a result of having an un-signed card, when making purchases they sometimes have to provide ID with a signature that matches the name on the card. So they are more susceptible to fraud AND have additional hassle when buying stuff *rolls eyes*______________
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Edited by yuriart10 on Thursday 21st October 08:45
The signature on the card is pretty meaningless really. My BoA cards have my photo-mugshot on the front, which is an added security measure, but is still only referred to occasionally. The key security measures are the pin # in the case of a debit card and supporting ID (drivers license) in the case of a credit card transaction. If you pay with a credit card 99 times out of 100 they'll ask for ID. In the signature panel of my credit cards I have written, "Photo ID Required" rather than my signature.
Matt Harper said:
The signature on the card is pretty meaningless really. My BoA cards have my photo-mugshot on the front, which is an added security measure, but is still only referred to occasionally. The key security measures are the pin # in the case of a debit card and supporting ID (drivers license) in the case of a credit card transaction. If you pay with a credit card 99 times out of 100 they'll ask for ID. In the signature panel of my credit cards I have written, "Photo ID Required" rather than my signature.
I don't disagree that a signature is a pretty useless security measure, it was the logic of not signing the card that I thought was strange.My experience is different to you - I've never been asked to provide photo ID when paying by card.
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