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Comment by lotsofpulp | Hacker News Reader

I have inquired about this also and found no solution. If I use my US based credit cards abroad where chip and pin is the norm, I end up getting asked to sign a printed receipt.

I imagine the card networks just don’t want to spend money to change the infrastructure to support chip and pin because the merchant pays for most the losses in the US?

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Had many arguments with cashiers in Europe who refused to let me sign receipts and insisted I just enter a pin.

Also interesting how there are such specific requirements at grocery stories. None of my US-based cards could be used in several grocery stores in the Netherlands. When the cashier looked at my cards, they immediately knew it was because I didn't support whatever networks they expect.

Maestro or VPay they expected, the european old-school debit brands.

I was (politely) threatened with arrest on a British commuter train when the ticket inspector's credit card device insisted on a PIN for an American credit card.

He literally didn't believe me when I said American cards still ask for signatures. By luck there was an American also riding in the cabin who piped up to verify my story and I was allowed to pay when I reached my destination.

In Australia the same card works with contactless payment, which never asks for a signature, up to AU$100. But as soon as I go over that limit it's a card dip + signature.

The liability shift in the US that affected most retailers occurred in October 2015 -- basically, merchants are and have been liable for fraud that occurs on swiped transactions. I'd be curious to find out how the example presented by the parent article could change this -- a valid-looking card that only has swipe would definitely be taken by a merchant for fraud, and if the card doesn't claim to be EMV-capable, it seems like this would not be the merchant's fault. I would think in 2020, however, a mag stripe only card would raise red flags with humans at the counter, but gift cards are this way, so perhaps they would just breeze right through.

Previous commenter and I were talking about chip and pin, not just chip (aka EMV).

With EMV, someone can still use your card after they steal it. With chip and pin, that is far more difficult. I don’t know if merchant off the hook even with just chip, I presume the card networks kept some weasel language in order to allow them to blame the merchant.

EMV is the standard for the debit/credit cards with chips. It includes modes with PINs, signatures, and neither, depending on the configuration of the card (i.e. the bank) and the reader (i.e. the shop's bank/intermediary).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMV

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