Chip and Pin Visa

[tjtops]

I know...it's crazy. I've often wondered that too....also why is it that in some places they demand to see your passport as proof of identity?.....as for me though I'm afraid I refuse to carry it and until now, a UK driving licence has sufficed in ALL the shops/supermakets and a credit card sized laminated copy of the passport on most other 'official' occasions.

[Don]

In a way it is strange that the signature is not checked but they often ask for photo ID first so the signature becomes a bit academic then. Only in garages for small amounts less than about 50 euros do they not ask for photo ID but more than likely your car registration has been clocked by the CCTV. As for card renewal and being without, thats why its a good idea to have a number of credit and debit cards, UK and Spanish to avoid currency exchange fees, so if one doesnt come through on time, you have a second or third or fourth chance.

[karandjon]

Don wrote:

its a good idea to have a number of credit and debit cards, UK and Spanish

I see where you´re coming from Don, but with spanish banks charging you just to hold an account, then extra to have a card and so on,it makes it a rather expensive business to have many accounts. I agree with having a few english ones though, as it least you have those to fall back on whilst waiting for the new spanish card.

[tjtops]

Only problem is, English credit cards don't help you to get cash out of a Spanish account though!!

[karandjon]

no, but its a good idea to have some money in an english account, so you can use that card whilst waiting a month or two for your new spanish replacement.the good thing is, the english account is free and no charge for card, so is a good back up for occasions spanish one doesnt work (or awaiting new one).

[Don]

OK so Bankinter charge me no fee for that account here in Sevilla and Citibank London charge nothing if your balance over all your accounts with them is 2000 pounds or more. If I started again I would go for Citibank all round as they also do free and instant transfers between your accounts in Spain and UK. I know the banking world is threatening to charge for current accounts but so far if they charge they dont get my accounts. Also a Halifax UK visa costs nothing to maintain independent of any account. I am being very cautious as I do not want to find myself or ourselves stranded anywhere in the world if a credit card fails and so far visa has proved better than any other for me at least. Hence a current count of 4 visa cards.

[katy]

Correct, always carry at least one spare card. Don't keep all your eggs in one basket

[Don]

Right on Katy - eggs = huevos = something as a man I dont want to lose prematurely

[tjtops]

I don't (keep all my eggs etc) but I have been badly stung financially getting money out of an English account here...the rate was atrocious and there was commission as well if I remember correctly!

[spanish_lad]

no pones todos los huevos juntos

i've never been asked for my pin in mercadona. strange, i have to sign it, but no pin, and they do check it.

[Don]

Mercadona do have their own funny sign here thingy but as my Spanish visa is not chip and pin I am never asked for a pin in Spain unless I am using one of the UK chip and pin cards.

[katy]

Mercadona and Alcampo don't ask. I have an account at Corte ingles so I don't know if they do. Leroy Merlin ask for it and Supersol. I did read somewhere that chip and pin has not cut down on fraud.

[Don]

El Corte Ingles certainly ask for ID over about 50 to 100 euros (it varies) but never have asked me for a pin.

[pigs-might-fly]

Yesterday we went to the big Carrefour commercial centre at La Linea.
We bought a few bits and bobs in Carrefour and paid quite happily with our CAM (Caja de Ahorros del Mediterranéo) debit card. This card, as is usual with Spanish issued debit cards, does not have an embedded chip.
We then bought a new suitcase at one of the other shops in the complex, tried to pay with the same debit card and were asked for a PIN! Oddly enough, they use CAM, too!!!
The shop had only the standard small retailer machine for authorisation, not a separate PIN entry device, so I declined to enter my PIN, which is the same as used in A.T.M.s.
I offered my CAM Visa card instead which was accepted with no problem.
What's all this about I wonder?

[jazper]

There were some filling stations in the UK that got found out for cloning chip and pin cards. They would swipe the card (to read the data) then insert the card in the chip reader but have the security camera angled just right to record the pin as it was entered.
Use your other hand to cover the keypad!

[Busymum]

Well, maybe I can shed some light on this .....I think technology is being updated here ...
The other day at work I swipped a chip and pin debit card .... customer put in pin ..... and then the machine gave me a completely new message never seen before (on our machine anyway) it told me the customer didn't need to sign the receipt. The receipt was then printed (from the little keypad gadget) with NO signiture box. Normally even with chip and pin we have to ask the customer to sign too! Ours is a SolBank machine. So something is changing ... maybe it varies at the moment depending on the supplier of the machines. Also this doesn't account for all the different 'problems' here but something is afoot!

Busymum

[wendyakemp]

I think they are trying to get the whole of europe the same. So that everyone uses chip and pin and not signature.
When chip and pin came in the banks agreed that if they accepted swipe only they would meet the cost of any losses, mistakes....but if the pin is inserted then it would be limited liability as only one person should know the number. If you ever get asked to input your pin twice for any reason be very suspicious as you have no chargeback rights if they both go through. If it is swiped and goes through you can claim back the duplicate amount.

[stellastaff]

What makes me laugh (I work with chip and pin card readers all day) is that if the customer forgets his pin and enters the wrong pin 3 times it puts a block on the card...but then proceeds to print a reciept to sign and continues to authorise the transaction anyway!!! No wonder there is no drop in fraud figures!

On the other point of using a Spanish non chip and pin, last Nov I came to the UK for a week and splashed out using my BBVA card and all but one store accepted that we had to sign. I was on a mission so you can imagine how many stores I shopped at! The store that refused only did so because they were all thick and couldn't work out how to use the machine without chip and pin even after I explained how to-they said they didn't think they were 'allowed' to!!