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Does a Wells Fargo Visa chip card work at the gas station in St Jean?
- Thread starter aewscs
- Start date
Just returned from two weeks and used a JP Morgan Select Card (with chip and signature) at the pump at the St. Jean station with no issues. Did not ask for a pin. Inserted the card, waited for the machine and after a few seconds it told me to go ahead and pump the gas. This was when the station was closed on a weekday night. Did it more out of curiosity than need to get gas at the time.
Used the JP Morgan Select Card and some Amex (with chip and signature at a few hotels) and most times they inserted the card into the bottom of the card machine versus swiping it, and then we would sign the slip.
The process was painless.
Used the JP Morgan Select Card and some Amex (with chip and signature at a few hotels) and most times they inserted the card into the bottom of the card machine versus swiping it, and then we would sign the slip.
The process was painless.
JEK
Senior Insider
Excellent! Chip and no PIN!
I called them before our trip because I had an issue at a gas pump in Canada which required me to go inside and sign. They told me it was hit or miss depending on the service the merchant uses. I asked them for list but they don't have one yet. I will try one evening in St Jean to see what happens.
Petri
Senior Insider
They need to copy the card the old-fashioned way..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMV shows that most of the world has moved or is moved to a state where if you don't have an EMV card, you'll be responsible for fraud.
EMVCo that does the EMV specs is pretty much owned by US companies (Amex, Visa, MC, JCB) and headquartered in the US.
http://www.finextra.com/news/announcement.aspx?pressreleaseid=44441 says that 45% of the world's credit cards are EMV now and 76% of the terminals.
I personally think that all new cards should also include NFC, if not activated yet at least it would be there (the EMV cards tend to be valid for ~4 years).
Anyway, the topic of pin or pinless is pretty much irrelevant as it can be both. It's defined by the terminals, the cards and the banks. If I use my card at home and they swipe it, the terminal says that they must use the chip & pin. If I use the same card to pay for parking, I'll just insert the card and it will eject it shortly with a succesful payment, no signatures, no pin.
lloyd
Senior Insider
All Canadian AMEX cards are chip and PIN( as are all other Canadian cards), but AMEX was late into the game,and some Canadian merchants,who take AMEX- many don't any more - haven't bothered to convert their machines,preferring to support the technology on VISA and MC.End result being you still have to sign if you use AMEX
Davesmom,
We have the platinum Amex with chip and signature. As I understand it, Amex doesn't send out the chip and signature cards unless you call and ask for them, but when you do, they overnight it to you. As everyone knows and had discussed on here, using Amex in St. Barth can be tricky, so we didn't use it much (only at a couple lunches at hotels and at a few stores - Rockshop and Laurent Effel - where we knew they wouldn't hassle us), but each time we did they utilized the chip instead of swiping it. The platinum Amex doesn't have foreign transaction fees, so it makes sense to use it in St. Barth. Not sure if having the chip on other amex cards that do charge foreign transaction fees would be worth it.
On a different note, where we did use the Amex we didn't run into any merchants telling us they had to charge it in US$ or anything like that. They simply took it and charged us in Euros like any other credit card transaction in St. Barth.
We have the platinum Amex with chip and signature. As I understand it, Amex doesn't send out the chip and signature cards unless you call and ask for them, but when you do, they overnight it to you. As everyone knows and had discussed on here, using Amex in St. Barth can be tricky, so we didn't use it much (only at a couple lunches at hotels and at a few stores - Rockshop and Laurent Effel - where we knew they wouldn't hassle us), but each time we did they utilized the chip instead of swiping it. The platinum Amex doesn't have foreign transaction fees, so it makes sense to use it in St. Barth. Not sure if having the chip on other amex cards that do charge foreign transaction fees would be worth it.
On a different note, where we did use the Amex we didn't run into any merchants telling us they had to charge it in US$ or anything like that. They simply took it and charged us in Euros like any other credit card transaction in St. Barth.
Tried the WF card at the St Jean gas station, it took the card, initiated the transaction and then I received "Transaction Annullee", so it is a no go with this card's implementation of chip and sign/chip and PIN.
I have not had any issues at stores or restaurants where I can sign and noticed that the receipts have EMV printed at the top.
I have not had any issues at stores or restaurants where I can sign and noticed that the receipts have EMV printed at the top.
Thank you so much, mulls01! I am so happy that you told me about the AMEX Platinum with chip and pin, as that is my favorite card for the reasons you mentioned. I will call right away! I would like to have the chip/pin one, just in case! (Laurent Effel is the best...I love them and they are special friends. So accommodating for anything you want..!) Can't wait to see them on the trip!!!
JEK
Senior Insider
DM,
No chip and pin yet, the AmEx implementation is chip and sign, so it probably won't work to pump gas after hours. Still worth having as it is more secure and has no transaction fees.
http://chipandsignature.americanexpress.com/
No chip and pin yet, the AmEx implementation is chip and sign, so it probably won't work to pump gas after hours. Still worth having as it is more secure and has no transaction fees.
http://chipandsignature.americanexpress.com/
sxmbeachlover
SBH Insider
I have been wondering the same thing. Marriott Visa is sending me a new card with a chip in it. I asked them if I needed a four digit pin in order to use it at a gas station, and they claimed I only needed the pin to get money our of an ATM or a bank. We'll see next month when we go.
KevinS
Senior Insider
There is signage on the gas pumps in St Jean that says that they accept MC and Visa, but that American Express is not accepted.
When using a chip and pin card that is accepted, you must leave the card in place until you are told to withdraw it, unlike the quick insert/withdraw that is used in US gas pumps.
When using a chip and pin card that is accepted, you must leave the card in place until you are told to withdraw it, unlike the quick insert/withdraw that is used in US gas pumps.
