Any first-hand information on American “chip and no PIN” cards in the U.K.?

Question

I just got a credit card from Chase with a chip -- American banks are starting to offer them. I'd like to know if anyone has used such a card in the U.K. recently and how that all worked out.

According to the guy at Chase, the deal with this card is that the chip helps it be compatible with U.K. point-of-sale systems, but the system will prompt the merchant for a signature (whereas their U.K. cards prompt for a PIN).

He also said that in some train stations this card won't work at an automated ticket kiosk because there's no PIN and the kiosk doesn't have a signature pad.

OK, great. So that's the bank's story.

I'm looking for up-to-date first-hand information from anyone who has used this type of card in the U.K. -- where it worked, where it didn't, any other useful information.

Answer 1

Coming from New Zealand, when I arrived in the UK I had one of the credit cards that I hadn't gotten around to putting a pin on. But without fail, as long as there was a person there, they'd be happy to let me sign for it - and they'd usually request a form of ID to compare with.

In theory a pin is more secure, but signing is still perfectly valid.

I then got myself a chipped and pinned debit card while living there, so I didn't end up using my NZ one that often, but when I did, it worked.

I had a bit more trouble in Central Asian countries, but a bit of hand waving and you'd usually get the message across ;)

Answer 2

Let's get a bit of history. Most of the cards that were in use in Europe for quite awhile now act as what in the US would be called a Debit Card, which means that you would be using it to pay for merchandise you would be asked to authenticate yourself by using a PIN essentially making a vendor an ATM machine. (For those of us who have been around awhile debit cards weren't VISA or MC)

The Smart Chip that you have in your card now will allow the reading terminal to authenticate your account possibly without the signature or PIN.

Chip like this have been available in Discover and AMEX cards for quite some time and if you are aware of Exxon's SpeedPass which is basically the same thing. You just wave your card in front of a reader and all the information is passed through automatically and shouldn't prompt a vendor or you for anything though depending on the system it may not be the case.

Answer 3

I'm from Ireland (which is similar to UK in this regard). Here many many point-of-sale or ATMs will be chip and pin. I overheard some Americans recently in my local supermarket unable to use their swipe credit card.

However I've never heard of these chip cards without a pin. Here "Chip 'n PIN" is what it's called at. You may have to explain to people about the lack of PIN. I'd be slightly surprised if it were to work without the PIN.

You could always use your card in a bank to get cash and just spend cash there. Or to be on the total safe side, get a proper chip & pin card.

Answer 4

I have had a chip-and-no-PIN MasterCard, Visa card and American Express card issued by Malaysian financial institutions for ages and throughout my travels to London, Paris, Rome/Venice, Sydney/Melbourne, Hong Kong, Tokyo/Osaka - none of my transactions have been declined by merchants. What I observed while queuing up to pay was that the locals have to key in their PIN, but I have to sign my signature on the transaction slip.