Now may not be the best time for Americans to travel overseas. Aside from the weak dollar and rising airfare, travelers will now be faced with the possibility that their credit card may not work. The United States is one of the few countries that have not adopted the chip and PIN credit card system in place of magnetized stripes. The chip and PIN technology is used in more than 130 countries and the United States is the only holdout among the G-20 nations.
According to a survey done by Aite Group those who traveled outside of the United States in the last three years have been facing increasing difficulty using a U.S.-issued credit card while abroad. The credit card companies have acknowledged the issue and several card issuers are planning to roll out chip enabled cards this year. Chase says that cardholders can request a chip enabled card as early as June and Wells Fargo will be testing out a card that includes a magnetic strip and computer chip this summer.
Although card issuers say their non-chip-enabled, magnetic strip cards are still accepted by overseas merchants who've adopted the newer technology, problems can arise when an attendant doesn't know how to process a magnetic strip card or when a credit card terminal is left unattended. If you plan to travel overseas it’s always a good idea to check with your bank or credit card company ahead of time and if you can’t get a new card take advantage of the millions of ATMs around the world and have cash handy or simply use an international prepaid credit card.
As always, stay tuned to Credit Cards Professor for more credit card news and updates.
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