
Do credit cards require a pin code#
Gemalto Digital PIN provides an end-to-end SAAS solution that allows financial institutions to encompass card PIN code management from definition to delivery via digital channels. Gemalto Digital PIN is simply a must-have – a future-proof standard that is easy to implement and yet so critical/important for end-users.Īt Thales, we believe that power is shifting to the companies that master the customer experience.įinancial institutions need to reimagine their core journeys from front to back by addressing key customer pain points and identifying new opportunities to delight customers in differentiated ways.

We have started to see that a bit in the US now, but it's been commonplace in Canada for over 10 years.Moving from paper to digital is critical for a successful, seamless digital experience: it should only take a few seconds to receive a card PIN (Personal Identification Number) and start using a card on the go, not days… Whenever my dad (American) comes to visit us in Canada, he always comments on how much nicer it is to pay by a credit card in a restaurant in Canada since they bring the card reader right to your table and the credit card never leaves you, where in most places in the US they still take your credit card away to go scan. We actually have the most issues with our cards traveling to the US (which we do all the time to visit my family) - our cards require us to put in a PIN over a certain $ amount and the card readers often are either programmed to automatically bypass the PIN requirement or the clerk bypasses it without asking us - both of which cause our card to be declined. Canada moved to PIN cards soon after that. I remember traveling to the UK in 2007 and having issues with a credit card that wasn't PIN-enabled. As I mentioned on another thread, I was able to tap to pay at both small and large restaurants, at shops and grocery stores, in taxis, on local buses, for train tickets and at tourist sites.Īlthough some might say that tap and pay (or other forms of contactless paying) are too easy, my experience was that it made the whole trip much more enjoyable than having to sign for every purchase.Īs an American who has been living in Canada for the past 18 years, I'm baffled at the US's reluctance to get on board with PIN cards since it seems to be much more secure. I haven't graduated to using my phone to pay yet, but I found tapping to pay very convenient - just like at home. They used the CC info I'd provided when I made the reservation, but I still had to sign. I only had to sign once and that was at my 1st hotel in Dublin because the bill was over the hotel's limit for charging an American card without a signature. I tapped my way across the Republic of Ireland in € and the UK in £. Their tap limits are the same as their charging limits. I only used the few € and £ I got for coin-operated laundromats, round-up tips and tips for housekeeping staff.īoth CCs are tap cards. However, compared to my last trip in 2019, cash was hardly needed this year. Both have pins that I have never used because I use debit cards to get cash in Europe.

I have credit cards from 2 different credit unions. This past summer I spent a total of 5 weeks in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales and a few hours at Heathrow enroute to Dublin and one night at a Heathrow hotel before my flight home.
