Special chip missing in Indian credit cards
While boarding from Paris' Gare du nord we almost missed our Thalys train to Brussels because of our credit cards not being accepted by the ticketing machine. During international travel we usually ensure that we reach the airport or railway station well before time.
Gare du nord, Paris but this is a photo while arriving via the Eurostar from London
But somehow we got delayed the day we were leaving Paris and barely managed to reach the station about half an hour before the train was scheduled to leave. At the station in Paris one usually does not come to know the platform at which the train would be arriving till the very last. So the kids and all our luggage was near the ticketing windows and we had to walk a bit to reach our train and the reserved compartment. We had bought our tickets in India through the net and now we just had to retrieve our tickets from the machine. We tried to get our tickets from the machine without any luck and we panicked as there was very little time left and we were carrying loads of luggage.
Meanwhile Anupam, our friend had already joined a queue at the ticket window as he had lost his wallet with credit cards to a pickpocket in a parisian metro!! Yes a man had taken advantage of Anupam as he was traveling with family, a baby and a stroller and was a tourist - yes this also happens in Paris and we thought that rogues were mainly confined to Italy!. The story goes like this - As Anupam with family was entering the metro station his paris visite card got folded in his pocket and the machine would not accept it and would not allow him to enter.
This particular man helped Anupam with his card and the stroller and all. He walked with them till inside the train. Now most Paris metro trains open from one side only. At this particular station the doors on both the sides were open. At the last minute the man picked his pocket and ran out from the other side. Meanwhile Anupam came to know immediately he got his family out fast and followed the man. But he lost him in the crowd after a while. It was a planned and targeted pickpocketing.
Coming back to the original story, Anupam joined the queue immediately as we entered the station and so he got his tickets just in time. Meanwhile we tried at the machine and lost precious time. Then we joined a queue and were literally going berserk at the slow pace with which it was moving. It seemed that no one was in a hurry except for us. The clerk would exchange pleasantries with each person first. We were literally jumping up and down with frustration at the etiquettes which the parisians were observing and we were wishing that alas they would behave like Indians. (Do Indians need lessons in etiquettes?) There was no provision for providing tickets to people whose trains were leaving first. We would have stood on the station and watched our train going by. But it was not to be so and we managed to get tickets in the nick of time. With our friends help we got our luggage and children near the train and literally threw our luggage in the train and got in.
We could not get our tickets from the machine because our cards, which rely on magnetic-stripe technology for transactions, lacked an embedded microprocessor chip, which stores and processes data and is now commonly used in Europe. Such chip-based cards — commonly referred to as chip-and-PIN cards because users punch in a personal identification number instead of signing for the purchase — offer an extra layer of protection against the theft of cardholder data and counterfeiting, and they are designed to replace magnetic stripe technology and signature payments.This particular man helped Anupam with his card and the stroller and all. He walked with them till inside the train. Now most Paris metro trains open from one side only. At this particular station the doors on both the sides were open. At the last minute the man picked his pocket and ran out from the other side. Meanwhile Anupam came to know immediately he got his family out fast and followed the man. But he lost him in the crowd after a while. It was a planned and targeted pickpocketing.
Coming back to the original story, Anupam joined the queue immediately as we entered the station and so he got his tickets just in time. Meanwhile we tried at the machine and lost precious time. Then we joined a queue and were literally going berserk at the slow pace with which it was moving. It seemed that no one was in a hurry except for us. The clerk would exchange pleasantries with each person first. We were literally jumping up and down with frustration at the etiquettes which the parisians were observing and we were wishing that alas they would behave like Indians. (Do Indians need lessons in etiquettes?) There was no provision for providing tickets to people whose trains were leaving first. We would have stood on the station and watched our train going by. But it was not to be so and we managed to get tickets in the nick of time. With our friends help we got our luggage and children near the train and literally threw our luggage in the train and got in.
The chip-and-PIN technology usually isn’t much of an issue when making purchases at a store, or paying for a meal in a restaurant, as most of those merchants still have credit card terminals that can read the magnetic stripes. Likewise, A.T.M.’s typically recognize and accept many cards whether they have a chip or a magnetic stripe. We could easily draw money from the ATM almost in all the cities we visited.
But Indian and American cardholders have had their cards rejected by automated ticket kiosks at train stations, gas pumps, parking garages and other places where there are no cashiers in Europe. Yes americans are in the same boat as us. It is also important in so much as we had no problems whatsoever in travelling across America in 2007, our credit cards worked everywhere.
10 Comments:
Very informative post again and gives enough tips for visitors to Europe about embedded chip credit card which is now going to become globally standard (has been in Singapore for a while now) including cards in India. Nevertheless, great tip on preparation and also on personal safety and the risk of robbery abroad.
(Do Indians need to learn etiquette): Last but not least, and I don't mean you, but Indians need to be taught etiquette and patience as we are always in a great tearing hurry even back home resulting in people jumping ques, milling around buses and trains trying to jump in through windows or place something to "reserve" a seat, endless shouting and arguing, honking at each other incessantly and making rash overtaking moves and jumping signals, diving under railway barriers instead of waiting for the train and so on...never ending list! Same people become so sedate when they come to live in other countries!
@Anup We are regular users of credit cards and still neither any of our friends nor we, have got the chip card to date, thanks to which we almost missed our train.
So there are two of us agreeing on, Indians being in need to be taught etiquette.
On the etiquette part, make it three.
Yes, I understand about the chip card but I did read somewhere that they are going to have it India too, although not sure when that is going to be! I also heard that the National ID card project that Nandan Nilekani is developing, will have an embedded chi in it with all information stored in it including Biometric. Its the same technology!
@Mridula when we travel abroad I think we learn to stand in queues and learn patience "mera number bhi ayega"
@Anup I was just saying that the chip credit cards are not in use as such in India, though cards like club memberships etc. do have chips in them.
Wow chips in club memberships too? Cool. Not come to that in Mysore yet..heheh..
I would like to wish you and your family a Very Happy Diwali! All the best for everything. As always, will await new posts on the blog from you.
@Anup you're comments are very encouraging for me. Happy Diwali.
I believe there should be something like instant ticket system for people whose train is about to leave.. More over regarding CC, its always a good idea to check with bank provider to find if your credit card will work in destination country or not...
Harsh, the banks issue international credit cards which are supposed to work in all countries. Besides the ATMs accept the credit cards, it is only particularly in Paris that we were left stranded.
Learning etiquette... me too agree on that.
As far as we know, Paris is very 'famous' for pickpocketing, more than Italy. :-)
And they have their own new ways to do their work.
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