No PIN or sig required for foreign purchase

chattychappy

Was surprised yesterday when I used my Post Office credit card in a shop in Taiwan. Handed over the card, out came the receipt and that was it. No sig required, no PIN required. (PIN pads are common here, but they aren't used yet.)

Card crime is very low in Taiwan and the shop said it was because the transaction was quite small (can't remember the limit, but I was spending about £10).

Just wondered if anyone else has had the same experience anywhere else. Don't remember that ever happening in the UK pre-chip'n'pin, except at ticket machines and phone boxes where generally a swipe was enough.

Saucepot

I am often surprised in Europe to find card purchases require a signature rather than a PIN number.

It is worth taking Martin's advice and having a card specifically for use abroad. Not only to get the best deal possible, but also that foreign transactions would be flagged as unusual for cards you have only ever been used in the UK.

dmg24

The same applies in the US - amounts below a certain amount (which seems to vary between shops) do not require a signature or PIN.

chattychappy

I've sometimes been asked for PINs oveseas where it hasn't been rolled out locally. This can come as a great shock to sales staff. In once case the machine was screwed to a counter behind a security screen. They wanted me to write the PIN on a piece of paper so they could type it in for me. I explained that this wasn't how it was supposed to work. After great discussion I was frisked by a security bloke and ushered through a double set of security doors.

Generally only use Zero or Post Office overseas. Neither has ever given me any trouble and I put thousands through in multiple countries.

Just always been asked for a sig - never had the experience of being asked for nothing.

Tixy

I've got a feeling mcdonalds trialled this for a bit in the UK, where under a certain amount nothing was required other than the card being swiped.
I might be wrong though.

bubieyehyeh

I seem to remember Tesco let you pay for upto £40 of petrol/diesel at the pump, before chip and pin came in. I don't know if that is still the case.

bengal-stripe

Tixy wrote: »

I've got a feeling mcdonalds trialled this for a bit in the UK, where under a certain amount nothing was required other than the card being swiped.

I've seen it done in 'Pret a manger' (sandwich shop); at least in their airport branches.

luci

I have this recently in the US. I made a couple of transactions which were under $25 and neither required a PIN or signature.

qmpete

I had a similar experience this summer in Canada. When the machine came up with "Remove Card" I had a sinking feeling that the card had been declined, but I was handed a receipt which said something to the effect of "Verification not required".

Again it was a small transaction (about 20 CAD), but if someone got hold of the card, they could quickly run up a very large balance in small transactions if there is no verification required.

chattychappy

qmpete wrote: »

but if someone got hold of the card, they could quickly run up a very large balance in small transactions if there is no verification required.

I would hope that there would also be some other limit that cuts in to prevent that. (I'd like to see the day that pigs fly too....)

twist-and-shout

Some shops offer it in the UK now for participating banks.
It's called 'contactless cards' where any transaction that is under £15 can be swiped so no pin and no sig.

MBNA has just joined the scheme so any card issued after 25th October 2010 will be set up with the contactless feature.
You don't have to use the contactless feature though and not all merchants take part in the scheme either.