Patf Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 Husband lost his french ( CA) bankers card. Went into the bank tocancel it and the girl told us that these cards can be used in Spainwithout the pin number. Or so I understood. Is this correct? If so howdoes it work? Pat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyh4 Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 I don't claim to be an expert but the most likely explanation is that the Spanish machines cannot read the (French) chip and so rely on the magnetic band and the good old fashioned signature. This is certainly the case between the UK and France and Germany and France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 There is a mixture of chip & pin and the UK system of signature only with the mag. strip. It's a case of pot luck which retail outlet does which. There's no obvious pattern. One other factor I have noticed. In France they limit cash withdrawls per day or week to an agreed limit. Not so in Spain. My French card allows 300 euros a week. In Spain I have often passed that without a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mascamps.com Posted February 20, 2006 Share Posted February 20, 2006 The bank, as usual with French banks, are wrong. Chip & PIN is being rolled out in Spain. Well, Chip, PIN and signature as you still need to sign even if you've entered your PIN. The Spanish chip readers will only read new-ish French cards (ie those on the EMC standard) which should include all cards issued during the last year or so.Most awkward place to buy in Spain is Carrefour as they have rolled out the software upgrade to implement their loyalty card at the same time as the upgrade to accept foreign chip cards. Snag is that the tills in Carrefour Spain don't have the slot to insert the cards (Spanish cards don't have chips so it doesn't matter). Net effect: all foreigners have to go to customer services to pay by credit card.The withdrawal limit for French cards overseas is different (and higher) than that when the card is used in France. It varies by bank but roughly speaking is 300€ a week in France 600€ a week abroad. Arnold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patf Posted February 21, 2006 Author Share Posted February 21, 2006 Thanks to all - most info I never knew. Typically husband's wallet withcards has now re-appeared! So he will just have to wait for his newcard. Pat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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