Using your Citi MasterCard Overseas

If you are one of the thousands of Canadians traveling overseas this year, you may find confusion at some merchants when you try to use your credit card in countries that have adopted "chip cards", also knows as "smart cards" or "chip and PIN".

Chip cards look like regular credit cards however there is a difference. The information normally stored on the magnetic strip on the back of a regular credit card is stored in a small computer chip embedded on the front of the card.

A chip card requires the holder to use a Personal Identification Number (PIN) to authorize a transaction instead of having to place his or her signature on a paper receipt. Restaurants in chip card-enabled areas often use portable PIN entry devices, brought right to your table, to complete credit card transactions. Your credit card never leaves your possession and helps keep your credit card safe from unauthorized use or counterfeiting.

Most continental European countries have already converted to chip cards, and the United Kingdom converted completely to chip and PIN in January 2006. Acceptance of international magnetic stripe credit cards, like your Citi™ MasterCard^®, has not changed and your Citi MasterCard will still be accepted at any merchant that normally accepts MasterCard payments.

In major metropolitan areas, you should encounter no trouble with acceptance of your credit card. Once you are out of major tourist centres, some merchants are unfamiliar with the rules regarding acceptance of international magnetic stripe cards and you may encounter some resistance to your magnetic stripe credit card.

Part of the confusion is due to implementation of new rules regarding acceptance of domestically-issued credit cards: In the United Kingdom, any merchant that accepts a magnetic stripe card that was issued by a UK-based bank will assume responsibility for any fraud losses that are incurred if the accepted card was a counterfeit card. Some merchants (or their staff) have incorrectly interpreted this rule to apply to all credit cards, not just cards issued in the UK. In reality, internationally-issued credit cards, like your Canadian Citi MasterCard, are not subject to this rule and do not impose any new fraud liability on merchants.

If a merchant that normally accepts MasterCard payments does not accept your magnetic stripe Citi MasterCard, you should ask the clerk to look into the matter. If the clerk still refuses, ask to see a manager. Tell him/her nicely but firmly that they are required by their agreement with MasterCard to accept your card.

Learn more at www.mastercard.ca.