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American Credit Cards in Vancouver


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Another thread on this board started by CJMini has me now worried if we will be able to use our US issued AMEX and Visa cards in Vancouver!

 

We were planning to take a taxi from YVR to our downtown hotel (paying with CC) as there are 4 in our party. Will this work? Can we add the tip to the CC bill?

 

Also, we have reservations at Salmon and Bannock and Blue Water Cafe. Will there be a problem with our CCs in those venues? And what about lunch places? Will probably do street food or smaller restaurants depending on where we are or when we're hungry. Now I'm considering bring more Canadian cash than originally thought.

 

Advice, please! Thanks so much!

 

Eeyore

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Cabbies will be very used to US credit cards - they should have no problem doing a 'swipe & sign' and yes you can add a tip to the bill before paying it. BWC is a large resto with lots of US celebrity visitors when in town filming. It would be very embarrassing if someone could not manage to accept e.g. The Rock's visa;-) S&B is a smaller, family-run place, but the staff turnover is very low so again I'd be surprised if anyone is working who cannot manage to override the normal Chip & PIN.

 

Food trucks... almost all of them seem to use Square or similar, which are mostly based around Swiping the card and Signing on the tablet screen, so no problems there either, but a few remain cash only. Your major problem areas are public transit (which is entirely unmanned, and ticket vending machines can ask for PIN verification, hence the other thread you refer to) and small stores/restos with low pricing thus low-paid staff (and usually minimal training, high turnover, so a better chance of finding a random teller or waitron who does not know how to operate all functions of the terminal).

 

Simply ask when you're being seated if they know how to handle a non-Chip card to save any hassle later in restos - for stores, worst case is not being able to buy the stuff but since you did not already consume it there is no contractual requirement for you to pay. With a resto eating the food means you are legally required to pay up even if you have to run out to an ATM leaving your jewelry/spouse/children as collateral;-)

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I read the same thread Eeyore mentions and I’m worried too! I have a chipped credit card and no pin. If a vender inserts the chip and needs a pin....can they instead swipe me? Going to call my credit card bank tomorrow....but I think you all know better!

 

 

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In theory all that has to happen is canceling the transaction and starting again - but being a Canadian & ex-Brit we've never NOT had a PIN for any credit card we've ever had, so I have no idea if the POS terminals are ever coded to require a Chip card must be inserted rather than swiped...

 

Given that the hard part has already been done though - you have a Chip on your card - you could just ask your CC provider for a PIN and then you'll be good anywhere, any time...

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By the merchant agreements the cards are good Worldwide. Some third World countries you may have issues but not Canada. holders could be charged by the credit card company a foreign service transaction fee. Some cards have them and they can be high others wave them.

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Cabbies will be very used to US credit cards - they should have no problem doing a 'swipe & sign' and yes you can add a tip to the bill before paying it. BWC is a large resto with lots of US celebrity visitors when in town filming. It would be very embarrassing if someone could not manage to accept e.g. The Rock's visa;-) S&B is a smaller, family-run place, but the staff turnover is very low so again I'd be surprised if anyone is working who cannot manage to override the normal Chip & PIN.

 

Food trucks... almost all of them seem to use Square or similar, which are mostly based around Swiping the card and Signing on the tablet screen, so no problems there either, but a few remain cash only. Your major problem areas are public transit (which is entirely unmanned, and ticket vending machines can ask for PIN verification, hence the other thread you refer to) and small stores/restos with low pricing thus low-paid staff (and usually minimal training, high turnover, so a better chance of finding a random teller or waitron who does not know how to operate all functions of the terminal).

 

Simply ask when you're being seated if they know how to handle a non-Chip card to save any hassle later in restos - for stores, worst case is not being able to buy the stuff but since you did not already consume it there is no contractual requirement for you to pay. With a resto eating the food means you are legally required to pay up even if you have to run out to an ATM leaving your jewelry/spouse/children as collateral;-)

 

Thanks for your detailed response. You mention public transit...what about the ferries that cross False Creek, as we intend to take one over to Granville Island? Should we be prepared with cash for this? Honestly, we hadn't been planning to bring any Canadian dollars with us, but now I'm thinking we might pack a few for things like tips and transit and "just in case" scenarios.

 

Also, will call AMEX and Visa to request PINs...we already have chips. I never knew PINs were a thing and I'm wondering why they don't automatically require them with the upgrade to chips.

 

Thanks again to all for this discussion.

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Thanks for your detailed response. You mention public transit...what about the ferries that cross False Creek, as we intend to take one over to Granville Island? Should we be prepared with cash for this? Honestly, we hadn't been planning to bring any Canadian dollars with us, but now I'm thinking we might pack a few for things like tips and transit and "just in case" scenarios.

 

Also, will call AMEX and Visa to request PINs...we already have chips. I never knew PINs were a thing and I'm wondering why they don't automatically require them with the upgrade to chips.

 

Thanks again to all for this discussion.

False Creek Ferries have a minimum fare spend of $10 for debit/credit, and only have machines on Granville Island - since they're the ones I use (their Zone fares break down better from my end of the creek saving me a couple of bucks per journey over Aquabus) I'm not sure if AQ are more flexible. They do take US currency - I've seen folks hand that over before, not sure whether it's at par or at a better but still not as good as official Exchange rate...

 

As to why US providers didn't start issuing PINs when they started adding Chips to cards - that costs money to print and mail a separate letter, and with very few Americans traveling internationally it's undoubtedly cheaper to respond on request than a blanket mailing of PINs to all when only a small % will ever actually need them. Plus, 'customer service' seems to be a cuss word to every US bank I've ever had the misfortune to deal with - we're Premier customers at our bank and still get treated like total cr*p compared to our dealings with the same bank in Canada, UK, and several other countries!

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In theory all that has to happen is canceling the transaction and starting again - but being a Canadian & ex-Brit we've never NOT had a PIN for any credit card we've ever had, so I have no idea if the POS terminals are ever coded to require a Chip card must be inserted rather than swiped...

 

 

 

Given that the hard part has already been done though - you have a Chip on your card - you could just ask your CC provider for a PIN and then you'll be good anywhere, any time...

 

 

 

I spoke with 2 different agents ( I have 2 separate chipped credit cards). They both said the same thing. The only pin I can get from them is for cash advances (used in an atm or bank teller). This pin would not work at a kiosk (according to them).

Ugh. So I cannot get a pin to go along with my chipped cards. Does this sound right?

 

 

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I spoke with 2 different agents ( I have 2 separate chipped credit cards). They both said the same thing. The only pin I can get from them is for cash advances (used in an atm or bank teller). This pin would not work at a kiosk (according to them).

Ugh. So I cannot get a pin to go along with my chipped cards. Does this sound right?

It sounds wrong - but see my full answer on the other thread!

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Many Canadian payment processors are able to handle US chip cards with signatures rather than PIN. Tap should work for amounts below floor limit which is usually CA$100. Worst case for Visa and Mastercard would be having to swipe and sign.

 

Amex is generally accepted by larger merchants. Smaller merchants often do not because of the significantly higher processing fee.

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Many Canadian payment processors are able to handle US chip cards with signatures rather than PIN. Tap should work for amounts below floor limit which is usually CA$100. Worst case for Visa and Mastercard would be having to swipe and sign.

 

 

 

Amex is generally accepted by larger merchants. Smaller merchants often do not because of the significantly higher processing fee.

 

 

 

Thank you so much for your helpful reply!

 

 

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I spoke with 2 different agents ( I have 2 separate chipped credit cards). They both said the same thing. The only pin I can get from them is for cash advances (used in an atm or bank teller). This pin would not work at a kiosk (according to them).

Ugh. So I cannot get a pin to go along with my chipped cards. Does this sound right?

 

 

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Chip and PIN is more secure, that is the reason its the standard in most parts of the world. The cards are much harder to counterfeit.

 

The US is very slowly moving to CHIP and PIN. The card issuers in the US have struggled to convince merchants to buy new terminals that can handle the chips, that is the main reason the US is still mostly based on signatures.

 

In Canada you will normally be presented with the terminal where you push your card into to the bottom and enter your PIN. Just tap your card on the top or swipe it on the side and you should be fine.

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Unless you plan a shopping spree at Costco.... Visa is accepted everywhere in Vancouver. Amex less so.

 

There's are some value restaurants that will demand cash.

 

Some cab drivers may say their machine is broken.... just let the driver know you plan to pay by Visa to avoid surprises.

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I spoke with 2 different agents ( I have 2 separate chipped credit cards). They both said the same thing. The only pin I can get from them is for cash advances (used in an atm or bank teller). This pin would not work at a kiosk (according to them).

Ugh. So I cannot get a pin to go along with my chipped cards. Does this sound right?

 

 

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Yes it sounds correct. We have traveled Canada, Southeast Asia, England, Australia and New Zealand with a chip but no pin. No problems. Sometimes you just have to say, "we don't have pins." They take care of it...never not been able to use our VISA or MC.

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I spoke with 2 different agents ( I have 2 separate chipped credit cards). They both said the same thing. The only pin I can get from them is for cash advances (used in an atm or bank teller). This pin would not work at a kiosk (according to them).

Ugh. So I cannot get a pin to go along with my chipped cards. Does this sound right?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

In spite of what some others have said the above is essentially correct. At this point in time American banks, with a single exception, refuse to issue chip and pin cards. The pin they offer is for cash advance only. The exception is Barclays which offers cards which look for signature first but will switch to Pin in certain situations. The only place I have ever had an issue with chip and signature is at unattended kiosks, e.g. train tickets, self service gasoline stations. Otherwise the server/attendant can accept your chip and signature card. There are also a handful of credit unions in the US which offer true chip and pin. American banks have no great desire to move to the next level and were incredibly slow to even move to Chip cards.

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...At this point in time American banks, with a single exception, refuse to issue chip and pin cards. The pin they offer is for cash advance only. The exception is Barclays which offers cards which look for signature first but will switch to Pin in certain situations.

Barclays is far from the only issuer of 'Chip & PIN' cards in the US. Wells Fargo, Bank of America, USBank, Chase, Diners Club (premier card and better) and many credit unions issue them (of course they may still be issuing Chip & Signature too); Target & Walmart Mastercards too (which are not just PIN-enabled, but true PIN-priority cards just like Canadian cards - i.e. they will always ask for your PIN first - and these are available even to folks with pretty dire credit scores!) If you go to comparison sites like cardrates.com, you'll find that there is an entire category for the best Chip & PIN cards these days... your info is very much out of date given there are enough of these cards out there to have a 'top ten' list!

 

I agree that US banks are far and away the worst in the civilized world from a customer service perspective - but thanks to all of the card processors adopting standard new rules for fraud in 2015, there is now a financial reason for everyone from banks to individual stores to update their systems. It's actually one of the most elegant and easy to understand financial changes ever IMO. In Plain English: for fraudulent transactions in-store, liability in the US is now determined by whomever has the least secure standard involved in the transaction.

 

In other words any bank that refuses to add Chips to their cards at all will pay out 100% of all fraudulent card use claims; those who only enable Chip & Signature are liable if the merchant terminal was able to accept Chip & PIN. This is why there was a sudden flurry of new POS terminals rolled out over the last couple of years - it's not just because the new cards are inherently more secure, but that it is in the best interest of all merchants to ensure they have the most up-to-date terminal so that they are never on the hook for the rare cases when a Chip card is compromised!

 

I believe it's 2020 when the final liability shift kicks in - making Pay at the Pump gas also become 'least secure pays for fraud' - which should mean the death knell for all non-Chip & PIN cards given how many folks pay at the pump in the US with credit cards.

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Because of a concern regarding foreign transaction fees, I switched a current outdated rewards card with Bank of America to a Travel Rewards card. We have an AMEX already that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees, but knowing that it isn't accepted as commonly as VISA, I wanted to also have a VISA that wouldn't charge the foreign transaction fees.

 

This card also comes with a PIN. To be used for purchases that require a PIN. I have already shredded this initial paperwork but the verbiage was along the lines of how this Travel Rewards card was a true international card...no foreign transactions fee, PIN, etc etc. I was very happy to read about the whole PIN situation after having this situation first brought to my attention with the other thread regarding the kiosks for the Skytrain.

 

I am not affiliated with nor am I receiving any paid compensation for this apparent advertisement of this particular card...just sharing.

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Okay I understand about the credit card issue, but have a question regarding using USD for tips and maybe purchasing lunches and items amounting to under $20. If I pay the check with equivalent USD will it be accepted in Victoria and Vancouver city stores and restaurants?

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Okay I understand about the credit card issue, but have a question regarding using USD for tips and maybe purchasing lunches and items amounting to under $20. If I pay the check with equivalent USD will it be accepted in Victoria and Vancouver city stores and restaurants?

 

Your asking if our stores take US cash? Does Florida take Canadian cash?

 

I’m sure some do, but hitting an ATM would be better. No server in Vancouver will want to deal with converting it to Canadian

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Much as I agree that the best thing to do is acquire some currency whenever you travel, if only to avoid contributing to the 'ignorant American' stereotype, the fact remains that many Vancouver businesses post a USD exchange rate at the checkout and happily accept USD cash. Even Tim Hortons! All the souvenir shops in Gastown, and equivalent tourist-focused businesses in Victoria, will take USD, give change in CAD, and laugh all the way to the bank because they just made extra profit from you;-)

 

It's a bad idea to assume any given restaurant will accept it though - check before ordering, as in Canada when you consume a product you have entered into a contract and the method of payment is entirely up to the resto. We have Cash Only and No Cash restos here - both are legal, there is no equivalent legislation to the US that requires cash to be accepted even in CAD, let alone foreign currency... so ask before you eat, and be prepared to go elsewhere if they say they don't take USD.

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