Using credit card in Paris
July 16, 2011 6:49 AM   Subscribe

Don't know my Visa credit card PIN and I'm going to Paris today -- will I be able to use my credit card in France without knowing my PIN?
posted by ihavepromisestokeep to Travel & Transportation around Paris, France (15 answers total)
 
Do you have a chip card? I used my PIN for every single transaction there. You could try asking them to swipe instead, though I think some of the machines won't have that work. It is possibly the same PIN as your debit card?
posted by jeather at 6:59 AM on July 16, 2011


Be sure to call the number on the back of the card to let them know you're traveling out of the country. You don't want the card locked down after the first transaction.
posted by stopgap at 7:06 AM on July 16, 2011 [1 favorite]


When I was in London a couple of years ago, I was able to use my Mastercard without the PIN. I just had to tell every retailer that the card needed to be swiped. Transactions often took longer while they'd process other people's payments, and they'd get to mine when they had time, but I didn't encounter any retailer that was *unable* to swipe my card. (NB: I used my card in coffee shops, pubs, and various clothing/shoe stores outside of the tourist district, so it's not like I was limiting my use only to places where they might be used to travelers without Chip-and-PIN cards.) A few seemed a bit frustrated by it, of course. As jeather suggests, if your card isn't a Chip-and-PIN card, I'm not sure you'd be able to use it with a PIN anyway.
posted by devinemissk at 7:07 AM on July 16, 2011


From your history it looks like you are American, so I very very highly doubt you have a chip and pin card, so no - don't worry about it at all. The only place where you could use the Pin is to do cash advances. Machines that won't take swipe cards won't work even if you have a Pin.
posted by JPD at 7:12 AM on July 16, 2011


If all else fails, you might try going to a bank and ask them to withdraw money from the card.
posted by krilli at 7:21 AM on July 16, 2011


US cards don't have a chip, so you sign for transactions and it works just like it does in the US. Non-chip cards are increasingly uncommon in Europe and you may find the occasional clerk who will be confused (unlikely in Paris). You also will not be able to use the card in an automated machine. That is a significant inconvenience when buying train tickets and gasoline, but otherwise doesn't matter much as a tourist.
posted by Nelson at 7:24 AM on July 16, 2011


From the previous comments, it looks like Paris uses the same system London does (with the chip & pin). My (American) boyfriend is living in London for the time being, and uses his American credit card (a swipe card) for every purchase. It's a hassle, but it's not impossible. Here are a few tips he's picked up:

-Make sure the back of your credit card is signed, since they actually check them
-Make sure you have your photo ID (with a signature) at the ready
-Make sure that when you sign the receipt you actually sign it, and not just give a scribble like a lot of us are prone to do, because they will compare the signatures between the receipt, credit card, and ID
-Don't use the self checkout at stores (always go to a cashier), since the self checkout will still require a person to come over and do all the swiping/checking and it'll end up taking more time

And yes, make sure you call your credit card company before you leave!
posted by phunniemee at 7:25 AM on July 16, 2011


Ditto JPD - if you're American, you have a card they'll swipe, and you'll sign a receipt – you won't need your PIN unless you try to withdraw from an ATM.

And stopgap has a good tip too, if you haven't notified your bank already.

On preview, Nelson also makes a good point about not being able to use the card in machines, but most of them take cash (coins, though some accept bills) as well now (I'm thinking public transportation ticket machines – train, tram, metro).
posted by fraula at 7:26 AM on July 16, 2011


When I was in France in 2003 most places had trouble with, or didn't know how to use the stripe. They expected chip-n-pin for everything. Since I doubt it's become any more common to use a swipe, you might want to use cash where possible.
posted by blue_beetle at 7:33 AM on July 16, 2011


Response by poster: All, thanks for your responses.

As you've figured out, I am American. I haven't ever had any trouble using my credit card in Europe in the past, but it's been a couple years since I've been there. And a whopping 10 years since I've been to France. I just read an article about needing your PIN in France, so I started to worry . . . .

I've notified my bank, thanks for the reminder!
posted by ihavepromisestokeep at 7:35 AM on July 16, 2011


Response by poster: And for another update: I was just able to reset my PIN!
posted by ihavepromisestokeep at 7:48 AM on July 16, 2011 [1 favorite]


I just got back from Belgium. I could use my US credit card there for major transactions (buying dinner, for example) but not for most minor transactions. I didn't need to know my PIN, and it wouldn't have helped if I did - for those transactions I just paid cash. But there would be quite a big difference between urban and less-urban sales - I had much better success in Brussels than in smaller towns.

And seconding stopgap's recommendation above - call your vendor before you travel, otherwise they may well lock your card down pretty quickly. I've had this happen repeatedly, because I never remember to call. On preview, I see you've done that already. But you may want to take a second card anyway - I've had my card locked even after notifying the vendor (thanks, BoA!)
posted by me & my monkey at 9:03 AM on July 16, 2011


One other option that works well is to have the cashier key in the card manually--this works sometimes when swiping does not.

Also, the chip is called a 'puce' (flea).
posted by yellowcandy at 10:03 AM on July 16, 2011


One more thing about Paris/France - its far more common to use cash money for many/most transactions that I'd already gotten used to paying as (chip and pin) card transactions in Finland. You might find it worthwhile to take your debit card with you as well and/or cash money in some form - it would be cheaper, transaction wise, to withdraw from an ATM (a flat 5 dollar fee for most US banks) than to carry USD or travellers checks and then attempt to convert them.
posted by infini at 10:22 AM on July 16, 2011


You can activate your pin over the phone...is there somebody you can trust receiving your mail....
posted by BobbyDee at 12:07 PM on August 12, 2011


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