Credit cards with chips aren't completely secure

[Northstar]

Yes I did say that. Yes they did say that. The students have been there since September and the only one having an issue is the one with the chip card, so the warning from the study abroad program was correct.

Does the student with the chip card by any chance have American Express? In that case, the issue has nothing to do with the chip.

Or it is possible that this student had not, at the time of the issues, figured out how to access money other than with the credit card. Students with a credit card need to have other ways to pay for things, and most of them quickly figure out how to get their hands on their cash. So when they run into a retail place that won't take their card, they don't say "See? It's all because I have the wrong type of card!" They just pay by a different method.


I am quite sure that whatever issues this student with the chip card is having have nothing to do with the fact that the card has a chip instead of a magnetic stripe.

 

[tvguy]

Does the student with the chip card by any chance have American Express? In that case, the issue has nothing to do with the chip.

Or it is possible that this student had not, at the time of the issues, figured out how to access money other than with the credit card. Students with a credit card need to have other ways to pay for things, and most of them quickly figure out how to get their hands on their cash. So when they run into a retail place that won't take their card, they don't say "See? It's all because I have the wrong type of card!" They just pay by a different method.


I am quite sure that whatever issues this student with the chip card is having have nothing to do with the fact that the card has a chip instead of a magnetic stripe.

Visa card. Not sure what to say. They were warned that they could have issues with chip cards. They have been there 9 months. They ARE having issues with chips cards. That tells me chip cards can be a problem.

 

[wilma-bride]

Visa card. Not sure what to say. They were warned that they could have issues with chip cards. They have been there 9 months. They ARE having issues with chips cards. That tells me chip cards can be a problem.

So one student has a chip n pin card and is having problems ergo all chip n pin cards have problems. As a UK resident who uses chip n pin on a daily basis, I cannot imagine what the nature of those problems might be. Is her card being refused? Or is it not accepting her PIN? Something else?

 

[tvguy]

So one student has a chip n pin card and is having problems ergo all chip n pin cards have problems. As a UK resident who uses chip n pin on a daily basis, I cannot imagine what the nature of those problems might be. Is her card being refused? Or is it not accepting her PIN? Something else?

Merchants don't have the chip reading machines. Now, some will manually enter the card number, but some clerks don't know how to do this.

 

[Kogo Shuko]

I'm wondering if maybe the American chip technology just isn't on par with the rest of the world? Because I can't imagine why a card that is chipped doesn't have the magentic swipe as well.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Merchants don't have the chip reading machines. Now, some will manually enter the card number, but some clerks don't know how to do this.

Is the USA the one place in the world that does not also have magnetic strips on the chip card, so that the less secure transaction can take place when a merchant has not upgraded their system yet?

I have never seen a chip and pin card that does not also have a magnetic strip.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Is the USA the one place in the world that does not also have magnetic strips on the chip card, so that the less secure transaction can take place when a merchant has not upgraded their system yet?

I have never seen a chip and pin card that does not also have a magnetic strip.

US chip cards have a magnetic strip also. Actually in the US most stores don't have chip readers yet so the magnetic strip is what we use. That's one of the reasons the Op makes no sense. A chip card can still be swiped if there's no chip reader.

 

[tlens]

Canada still has mag stripe because of our travel to the US where Chip and Pin isn't the norm.

TV Guy can say whatever he wants about Canada but having relatives in remote obscure places there doesn't make him right about the rest of the country.

If you use your card online, there is no greater security with a CHIP card than a mag stripe card. The protection is FAR greater at terminals with in person use.

Credit card companies recommend only having a 4 digit pin (you can have up to 6) as many terminals are only equipped to handle a 4 digit, esp. those enabled int he US.

I find using my credit card in the US to be a pain. Not only do I have to manually swipe it, I also need to show ID. Many gas stations require use of a zip code when paying at the pump so that requires me to go in, prepay, then go back in for a refund. Then with the exchange on the refund, I end up paying more than the actual cost of the gas.

So TV guy, please don't speak for all of Canada/UK when you only know a teeny little bit based on personal experience.

 

[wilma-bride]

Merchants don't have the chip reading machines. Now, some will manually enter the card number, but some clerks don't know how to do this.

Which merchants? I have not come across a single store, restaurant or other place where money changes hands in the UK that doesn't have chip n pin technology. In fact, it was made mandatory in this country on 14 February 2006. I would be interested to know where this student is trying to use her card that does not have a card reader machine We even have contactless payment in many places now.

 

[BCDisneyFanatic]

Maybe not correct for where you live, but Canada is an amazingly diverse country. And you live 2,700 miles to 3,500 miles from the areas I frequent in Canada. Your Canadian comments have kept my Canadian cousins in stitches.

I would venture to guess that declansdad knows a lot more Canadians than you, in a much more populated part of the country. I've always found his views to be pretty consistent with mine, and I'm originally from Ontario but currently live in British Columbia.

You've already stated that your cousins live in one of the most sparsely populated provinces in the country, and then that they live in quite remote areas of that province. Can you not at least consider the possibility that their experiences are not representative of the majority of Canadians?

 

[BCDisneyFanatic]

Yes I did say that. Yes they did say that. The students have been there since September and the only one having an issue is the one with the chip card, so the warning from the study abroad program was correct.

If the students have been living in Europe for eight months, perhaps the issue is not with the type of card being used but instead a lack of funds in the account?

 

[firecracker725]

Merchants don't have the chip reading machines. Now, some will manually enter the card number, but some clerks don't know how to do this.

Where in the UK is your daughter?

 

[NHdisneylover]

US chip cards have a magnetic strip also. Actually in the US most stores don't have chip readers yet so the magnetic strip is what we use. That's one of the reasons the Op makes no sense. A chip card can still be swiped if there's no chip reader.

I kind of thought that, but chips had not even been available in the US when we moved and I wanted to give the OP the benefit of the doubt. So the story just does not add up at all from several different angles. Weird. OP, I really hope your DD's friend is not coning her into covering expenses for her.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Which merchants? I have not come across a single store, restaurant or other place where money changes hands in the UK that doesn't have chip n pin technology. In fact, it was made mandatory in this country on 14 February 2006. I would be interested to know where this student is trying to use her card that does not have a card reader machine We even have contactless payment in many places now.

I believe he mentioned Morrisons a few posts back. That's a fairly big grocery chain, right? How strange that a store like that wouldn't have chip readers.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Where in the UK is your daughter?

I think the OP said Leeds in a prior post.

 

[declansdad]

I would venture to guess that declansdad knows a lot more Canadians than you, in a much more populated part of the country. I've always found his views to be pretty consistent with mine, and I'm originally from Ontario but currently live in British Columbia.

You've already stated that your cousins live in one of the most sparsely populated provinces in the country, and then that they live in quite remote areas of that province. Can you not at least consider the possibility that their experiences are not representative of the majority of Canadians?

And one of the places he talked about earlier even accepts tax payments with a debit or credit card.

 

[Unas]

I believe he mentioned Morrisons a few posts back. That's a fairly big grocery chain, right? How strange that a store like that wouldn't have chip readers.

The more I read here, the more convinced I an that OP, and one or two others, confuses the computer chip card with the proximity cards (RFID).

 

[Northstar]

Merchants don't have the chip reading machines. Now, some will manually enter the card number, but some clerks don't know how to do this.

So if merchants in the UK can't deal with credit cards with a chip... does that mean that their clientele is exclusively American students? I mean, surely they must be used to British people and Europeans coming in with a card that has a chip, since virtually all credit cards issued there have a chip.

I am sure there are merchants who haven't upgraded their card readers to use chip-and-pin. But I'm also sure that those merchants deal daily with customers who have a credit card that comes with a chip in it.

It seems more reasonable to discount the conclusions of two American students who are just learning the ropes of how to pay for stuff in their host country about why one student had trouble on one occasion paying with her brand-new credit card.

 

[firecracker725]

The more I read here, the more convinced I an that OP, and one or two others, confuses the computer chip card with the proximity cards (RFID).

That has to be the case. There are plenty of places I've encountered that don't accept mag stripe cards but none that don't take the chip.

For the record, OP, I googled chip cards and Morrisons, and a huge scandal came up about fraud with their chip and pin machines, so they do accept them.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Credit card companies recommend only having a 4 digit pin (you can have up to 6) as many terminals are only equipped to handle a 4 digit, esp. those enabled int he US.

I find using my credit card in the US to be a pain. Not only do I have to manually swipe it, I also need to show ID. Many gas stations require use of a zip code when paying at the pump so that requires me to go in, prepay, then go back in for a refund. Then with the exchange on the refund, I end up paying more than the actual cost of the gas.

You get around the gas station issue by putting in 00000.

TVguy - I looked up those towns you mentioned and they are all hamlets/villages with no more than 100-200 people.
I'm sure if you went to a hamlet in Minnesota or North Dakota you would have the same experience.
By driving to the nearest large town you could easily use debit or credit card.