As summer winds down, we’ll be hearing from many a returning
sunburned co-worker about their vacations.
Along with stories of people returning from exotic birdwatching sojourns
or seven magical/arduous days with the kids at Disneyworld, one in particular
will be near and dear to the hearts of ATM, Debit and Prepaid Forum-goers.
It’s the travel story of Americans on vacation romping
through the countryside of France, or through a small town in Germany, or anywhere
in the UK, without an EMV card. They
have cards. But they don’t have a card
with a chip on it. Which is problematic
if you’re trying to buy something, and more problematic if it’s something
essential.
Take the story of our marketer, Sasha Burgansky who traveled
through Provence and needed to buy gas.
The story begins auspiciously enough.
She stopped at a self service gas station, and pulled out her Visa chip
card. Because she did her research, she
knew before packing her bags that she had to be prepared to bring a smartcard
since retailers abroad have migrated to this system. But alas!
It required a PIN! She only had a
signature card! And it was a Sunday,
when there was no station attendant. The
best laid plans, etc…..
When I was shopping at Printemps in Paris, a large
department store equipped to accept all manner of cards, I would pay with a
US-issued credit card. I got looks that
I could only interpret as: “Your French is terrible, and your magstripe card is
inferior.”
Can’t wait for my
chip card if only to avoid feeling shame and/or helplessness abroad.
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