New UK credit cards

[Miki]

LAST EDITED ON 13-Apr-04 AT 09:53 AM (GMT)

We have heard that UK cards with pin numbers will not work, I was told this and found it to be correct BUT this morning we took 2 credit cards from English and Irish guests and both were of the new type with security style pin number required and not the signature.


I said I would try them but did not think they would work as the technology was said to be different in UK and French similar cards. Well, when prompted to put the card in for the Englsih client, the machine(in French of course) asked for the card to be "placed" in the slot (and not to be swiped and signature to be given which is normal for the machine to state) the first one worked and pin number offered and voila! it went through.

With the Irish guest, the card acted in exactly the same way, except that at the end she never had her pin number and on looking at the machine screen, it stated that a signature was required!! but the card had not been swiped but placed in the machine in the "French way" very strange ! She was from Dublin who are in the Euro and are using the new technolgy cards I believe?


Whether or not some cards will now work in the petrol stations I don't know but if my machime is anything to go by, well?

The card was a Barclay card Visa.

Miki

[Dick Smith]

Interesting, Miki. My new card (2 weeks, Lloyds Visa) demanded that it be swiped (although that has failed on one occasion). If you look at the citcuitry bit on the UK and French cards they are quite different.

Regards

Dick
BONO ANIMO ES

[Richardbk]

I beleive that newer french card readers will read both the older French card standard and the newer ISO standard cards (UK and elsewhere), in preparation for when the French also move to the ISO type cards.

Whether or not a signature or pin is required is not really a function of the reader itself, but more to do with the security/authorisation policy of the bank and/or whether the issuing bank has set in place the means to verify via the PIN.


regs

Richard