Wordwide acceptance of Credit Cards no longer true for U.S. Credit Cards

If you’ve been to Europe recently, you know that the majority of vending machines like kiosks or public telephones only take Credit Cards with the security chip in it.

While all of the credit cards issued in Europe have this security chip in them, only a handful of U.S. Credit Card issuers use such a feature. When traveling it can result in a waste of time, since it is a lot faster to get tickets at Museums, Train Stations, Subways, Airports using kiosks that also have English language menus, than to wait in the long lines and having to experience the language barrier.
But it’s getting worse. In order to counteract credit card fraud due to identity theft, credit card cloning and stolen cards, Europe is switching to a “Chip-and-PIN” system. The “Chip-and-PIN”system has extra protection since only credit cards with the security chip are accepted, either at vending machines or in person (like in a restaurant), and the point of sale machine will ask the consumer to enter the PIN, a procedure similar to what happens today when you use your ATM card.

Boston.com is reporting that “Nearly all the credit-card terminals in Britain, Ireland, Denmark, France, and Spain have been changed. Canada is scheduled to convert in 2010. And as many as 50 other countries around the world are converting.”

Unfortunately U.S. credit cards issuers have no plans to adopt the “Chip-and-PIN” system, not even for Business Cards. This is going to be a major inconvenience for international travelers, especially frequent business travelers. Until then, if you are planning a trip abroad, your best bet is to call your credit card company and ask when they are going to adopt such a system, the more people signal their feedback the sooner the credit card companies will get their act together and do the right thing.

We are going to be on the lookout for the first enlightened credit card companies that will understand this issue, and will add such a feature on their cards. As soon as we spot one, we’ll report promptly. If you spot a credit card company that offers such a feature, do not hesitate to email us at our tipline: MojoTipLine (at) gmail (dot) com.

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