Hi All -

I'm trying to verify a rumor/fact.

Three Wells Fargo bank employees have told my wife that ATM cards will
not work in Europe if th PIN begins with the numberal '1'.

Since my PIN begins with a 1 I called my bank to get a new PIN. My bank
told me that not only is this not a problem but the real problem is if
the account number begins with a one. The person at my bank said that
several of their bank employees whos ATM card PIN starts with have had
no problems using them in Europe.

So, I'm confused.

Does anyone out there have experiences with this?

Thanks!

On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 12:59:06 -0700, in rec.travel.europe, John Smith <[email protected]>
arranged some electrons, so they looked like this :

... Hi All -
...
... I'm trying to verify a rumor/fact.
...
... Three Wells Fargo bank employees have told my wife that ATM cards will
... not work in Europe if th PIN begins with the numberal '1'.
...
... Since my PIN begins with a 1 I called my bank to get a new PIN. My bank
... told me that not only is this not a problem but the real problem is if
... the account number begins with a one. The person at my bank said that
... several of their bank employees whos ATM card PIN starts with have had
... no problems using them in Europe.
...
... So, I'm confused.
...
... Does anyone out there have experiences with this?

I'm in Europe and my PIN does not begin with 1. Anyone?

Magda <[email protected]> wrote:

    > On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 12:59:06 -0700, in rec.travel.europe, John Smith
    > <[email protected]> arranged some electrons, so they looked like this :
    >
    > ... Hi All -
    > ...
    > ... I'm trying to verify a rumor/fact.
    > ...
    > ... Three Wells Fargo bank employees have told my wife that ATM cards will
    > ... not work in Europe if th PIN begins with the numberal '1'.
    > ...
    > ... Since my PIN begins with a 1 I called my bank to get a new PIN. My bank
    > ... told me that not only is this not a problem but the real problem is if
    > ... the account number begins with a one. The person at my bank said that
    > ... several of their bank employees whos ATM card PIN starts with have had
    > ... no problems using them in Europe.
    > ...
    > ... So, I'm confused.
    > ...
    > ... Does anyone out there have experiences with this?
    >
    > I'm in Europe and my PIN does not begin with 1. Anyone?

I can confirm that cards with PIN numbers beginning with 1 work fine.
Never a problem in many different countries in Europe. In fact, I can
confirm that US cards with PIN numbers beginning with 1 also work in
Europe! Sounds like wrong information from the bank I'm afraid. :(

--
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
photos at http://homepage.mac.com/davidhornecomposer

"John Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hi All -
    > I'm trying to verify a rumor/fact.
    > Three Wells Fargo bank employees have told my wife that ATM cards will not
    > work in Europe if th PIN begins with the numberal '1'.
    > Since my PIN begins with a 1 I called my bank to get a new PIN. My bank
    > told me that not only is this not a problem but the real problem is if
    > the account number begins with a one. The person at my bank said that
    > several of their bank employees whos ATM card PIN starts with have had
    > no problems using them in Europe.
    > So, I'm confused.
    > Does anyone out there have experiences with this?
    > Thanks!

It's a load of hooey. I have a Bank Account starting with 1 and my PIN at
that account also starts with 1. And I can even use the card in the USA!

JohnT

John Smith wrote:

    > Hi All -
    >
    > I'm trying to verify a rumor/fact.
    >
    > Three Wells Fargo bank employees have told my wife that ATM cards will
    > not work in Europe if th PIN begins with the numberal '1'.
    >
    > Since my PIN begins with a 1 I called my bank to get a new PIN. My bank
    > told me that not only is this not a problem but the real problem is if
    > the account number begins with a one. The person at my bank said that
    > several of their bank employees whos ATM card PIN starts with have had
    > no problems using them in Europe.
    >
    > So, I'm confused.
    >
    > Does anyone out there have experiences with this?

Nether my account number nor my PIN begin with a "1", but my
card certainly did not work in Brussels, last June! (And it
had, during past visits - go figure.)


    >
    > Thanks!

JohnT <[email protected]> wrote:
    > "John Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    >> Hi All -
    >> I'm trying to verify a rumor/fact.
    >> Three Wells Fargo bank employees have told my wife that ATM cards will not
    >> work in Europe if th PIN begins with the numberal '1'.
    >> Since my PIN begins with a 1 I called my bank to get a new PIN. My bank
    >> told me that not only is this not a problem but the real problem is if
    >> the account number begins with a one. The person at my bank said that
    >> several of their bank employees whos ATM card PIN starts with have had
    >> no problems using them in Europe.
    >> So, I'm confused.
    >> Does anyone out there have experiences with this?
My account number begins with a "1". I've used my ATM card in Europe many times
over the years. The only time I ever had a problem was one time when the ATMS
in the Munich airport were all out with Network Problems.

Julie



    >> Thanks!

    > It's a load of hooey. I have a Bank Account starting with 1 and my PIN at
    > that account also starts with 1. And I can even use the card in the USA!

    > JohnT



--
Julie
**********
Check out the blog of my 9 week Germany adventure at www.blurty.com/users/jholm
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

"John Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in [email protected]...
    > Hi All -
    > I'm trying to verify a rumor/fact.
    > Three Wells Fargo bank employees have told my wife that ATM cards will not
    > work in Europe if th PIN begins with the numberal '1'.
    > Since my PIN begins with a 1 I called my bank to get a new PIN. My bank
    > told me that not only is this not a problem but the real problem is if
    > the account number begins with a one. The person at my bank said that
    > several of their bank employees whos ATM card PIN starts with have had
    > no problems using them in Europe.
    > So, I'm confused.
    > Does anyone out there have experiences with this?
    > Thanks!

Perhaps some of the problems come from the EMV (new card design) migration.
In France, according to the Banking Card consortium, all payment terminals
should accept Visa or Master Card foreign cards, some will accept cards from
other issuers.

http://www.cartes-bancaires.com/

These 43,714 "CB" ATMs can be used by all "CB" bankcards as well as by all
Visa or MasterCard cards issued outside France. Most accept Plus and Cirrus
cards as well.

I think you have to be very lucky to have your cards working ...
e.g. I live in Switzerland and have a large and wide cards set
including: visa, american express, EC, Plus, Maestro. I went to
Italy for a weekend and was affraid to stay left on street for not
being able to refuel my car ... NONE of my cards worked in any
of the Italian banks (lack of connection, cash withdrawal not working
and NONE of the gas station accepted any kind of cards they only
accepted cash Euro) all defective ... I tried on around 25 different
places stations, bank cash machines, etc etc.

My conclusion was to take from your home country enough cash
in advance. I was visiting Genova Italy by car and got my slight fright
of staying lost on highway without gas to continue. As soon as I got
back to Switzerland everything worked just fine ;)

HTH,

Regards,
Giovanni

"John Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hi All -
    > I'm trying to verify a rumor/fact.
    > Three Wells Fargo bank employees have told my wife that ATM cards will not
    > work in Europe if th PIN begins with the numberal '1'.
    > Since my PIN begins with a 1 I called my bank to get a new PIN. My bank
    > told me that not only is this not a problem but the real problem is if
    > the account number begins with a one. The person at my bank said that
    > several of their bank employees whos ATM card PIN starts with have had
    > no problems using them in Europe.
    > So, I'm confused.
    > Does anyone out there have experiences with this?
    > Thanks!

I think your experience is very unusual. Did you talk to your bank in advance?
Afterwards?

Julie

Giovanni Azua <[email protected]> wrote:
    > I think you have to be very lucky to have your cards working ...
    > e.g. I live in Switzerland and have a large and wide cards set
    > including: visa, american express, EC, Plus, Maestro. I went to
    > Italy for a weekend and was affraid to stay left on street for not
    > being able to refuel my car ... NONE of my cards worked in any
    > of the Italian banks (lack of connection, cash withdrawal not working
    > and NONE of the gas station accepted any kind of cards they only
    > accepted cash Euro) all defective ... I tried on around 25 different
    > places stations, bank cash machines, etc etc.

    > My conclusion was to take from your home country enough cash
    > in advance. I was visiting Genova Italy by car and got my slight fright
    > of staying lost on highway without gas to continue. As soon as I got
    > back to Switzerland everything worked just fine ;)

    > HTH,

    > Regards,
    > Giovanni

    > "John Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    >> Hi All -
    >> I'm trying to verify a rumor/fact.
    >> Three Wells Fargo bank employees have told my wife that ATM cards will not
    >> work in Europe if th PIN begins with the numberal '1'.
    >> Since my PIN begins with a 1 I called my bank to get a new PIN. My bank
    >> told me that not only is this not a problem but the real problem is if
    >> the account number begins with a one. The person at my bank said that
    >> several of their bank employees whos ATM card PIN starts with have had
    >> no problems using them in Europe.
    >> So, I'm confused.
    >> Does anyone out there have experiences with this?
    >> Thanks!



--
Julie
**********
Check out the blog of my 9 week Germany adventure at www.blurty.com/users/jholm
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 14:47:00 +0200, Giovanni Azua wrote:

    > I think you have to be very lucky to have your cards working ...
    > e.g. I live in Switzerland and have a large and wide cards set
    > including: visa, american express, EC, Plus, Maestro. I went to
    > Italy for a weekend and was affraid to stay left on street for not
    > being able to refuel my car ... NONE of my cards worked in any
    > of the Italian banks (lack of connection, cash withdrawal not working
    > and NONE of the gas station accepted any kind of cards they only
    > accepted cash Euro) all defective ... I tried on around 25 different
    > places stations, bank cash machines, etc etc.
    >
    > My conclusion was to take from your home country enough cash
    > in advance. I was visiting Genova Italy by car and got my slight fright
    > of staying lost on highway without gas to continue. As soon as I got
    > back to Switzerland everything worked just fine ;)
    >
    > HTH,
    >
    > Regards,
    > Giovanni
    >
    > "John Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    >> Hi All -
    >> I'm trying to verify a rumor/fact.
    >> Three Wells Fargo bank employees have told my wife that ATM cards will not
    >> work in Europe if th PIN begins with the numberal '1'.
    >> Since my PIN begins with a 1 I called my bank to get a new PIN. My bank
    >> told me that not only is this not a problem but the real problem is if
    >> the account number begins with a one. The person at my bank said that
    >> several of their bank employees whos ATM card PIN starts with have had
    >> no problems using them in Europe.
    >> So, I'm confused.
    >> Does anyone out there have experiences with this?
    >> Thanks!

I've found my Austrian cashpoint card works just about every where, except
in Italian and Swiss petrol stations. Then nothing works.


--
Tim C.

Tim Challenger <[email protected]> wrote:

[]
    > I've found my Austrian cashpoint card works just about every where, except
    > in Italian and Swiss petrol stations. Then nothing works.

Yes, when it comes to non-ATM transactions, I find that it can be a bit
hit or miss in some countries. For ATM transactions though, I expect my
card to work almost anywhere, and it usually does. On the few occasions
it won't, I put that down to network problems- either with my bank or
the one I was trying to use. The problem rarely persists though.

--
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
photos at http://homepage.mac.com/davidhornecomposer

On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 13:57:55 +0100, [email protected]
wrote:

    > Tim Challenger <[email protected]> wrote:
    >
    > []
    >> I've found my Austrian cashpoint card works just about every where, except
    >> in Italian and Swiss petrol stations. Then nothing works.
    >
    > Yes, when it comes to non-ATM transactions, I find that it can be a bit
    > hit or miss in some countries. For ATM transactions though, I expect my
    > card to work almost anywhere, and it usually does. On the few occasions
    > it won't, I put that down to network problems- either with my bank or
    > the one I was trying to use. The problem rarely persists though.

I've had this in Switzerland for the last 12 years at petrol stations. It
is getting better now though, at larger places. The stickers on the pumps
say it should work but it rarely does. As for ATMs in banks etc, I've not
had any problems.
Italy is just because I think everything is broken.
--
Tim C.

Hi Julie,

I think it depends where you go ... e.g. in France all of my
cards worked just fine ... in Italy none, just be aware of that
and get prepared in advance. Only bad experience in France
was in a boutique in Paris they had the sign of accepting AE but I
clearly saw them faking a failed operation ... they just did not
want to pay the credit card commision and I had to end up
paying with my last cash.

In Italy all gas stations would have their card machines at
least covered or broken or with some text explaining "today
does not work" :-) At the end somehow I felt better ... because
Italy is dangerous with cards i.e. whether they keep the info
and steal from it later on OR I have seen on news faked covers
on cash machines for stealing card information and PIN ... they
would eventually empty your private bank account.

HTH,

Regards,
Giovanni

"Juliana L Holm" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    >I think your experience is very unusual. Did you talk to your bank in
    >advance?
    > Afterwards?
    > Julie
    > Giovanni Azua <[email protected]> wrote:
    >> I think you have to be very lucky to have your cards working ...
    >> e.g. I live in Switzerland and have a large and wide cards set
    >> including: visa, american express, EC, Plus, Maestro. I went to
    >> Italy for a weekend and was affraid to stay left on street for not
    >> being able to refuel my car ... NONE of my cards worked in any
    >> of the Italian banks (lack of connection, cash withdrawal not working
    >> and NONE of the gas station accepted any kind of cards they only
    >> accepted cash Euro) all defective ... I tried on around 25 different
    >> places stations, bank cash machines, etc etc.
    >> My conclusion was to take from your home country enough cash
    >> in advance. I was visiting Genova Italy by car and got my slight fright
    >> of staying lost on highway without gas to continue. As soon as I got
    >> back to Switzerland everything worked just fine ;)
    >> HTH,
    >> Regards,
    >> Giovanni
    >> "John Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    >> news:[email protected]...
    >>> Hi All -
    >>> I'm trying to verify a rumor/fact.
    >>> Three Wells Fargo bank employees have told my wife that ATM cards will
    >>> not
    >>> work in Europe if th PIN begins with the numberal '1'.
    >>> Since my PIN begins with a 1 I called my bank to get a new PIN. My bank
    >>> told me that not only is this not a problem but the real problem is if
    >>> the account number begins with a one. The person at my bank said that
    >>> several of their bank employees whos ATM card PIN starts with have had
    >>> no problems using them in Europe.
    >>> So, I'm confused.
    >>> Does anyone out there have experiences with this?
    >>> Thanks!
    > --
    > Julie
    > **********
    > Check out the blog of my 9 week Germany adventure at
    > www.blurty.com/users/jholm
    > Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
    > http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

Tim Challenger <[email protected]> wrote:

    > On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 13:57:55 +0100, [email protected]
    > wrote:
    >
    > > Tim Challenger <[email protected]> wrote:
    > >
    > > []
    > >> I've found my Austrian cashpoint card works just about every where, except
    > >> in Italian and Swiss petrol stations. Then nothing works.
    > >
    > > Yes, when it comes to non-ATM transactions, I find that it can be a bit
    > > hit or miss in some countries. For ATM transactions though, I expect my
    > > card to work almost anywhere, and it usually does. On the few occasions
    > > it won't, I put that down to network problems- either with my bank or
    > > the one I was trying to use. The problem rarely persists though.
    >
    > I've had this in Switzerland for the last 12 years at petrol stations. It
    > is getting better now though, at larger places. The stickers on the pumps
    > say it should work but it rarely does. As for ATMs in banks etc, I've not
    > had any problems.
    > Italy is just because I think everything is broken.

By ATM transaction, I meant just when you put the card in a hole in the
wall to get cash. With other things, yes, I've found that flaky.
Pleasant when it works (such as with the automated metro ticket machines
in cities like Vienna or Berlin) but not a huge surprise when it
doesn't- such as in Paris. The only experience I have buying petrol on
mainland europe was when offering to fill up my brother's car in Norway-
to paraphrase the Little Britain character, 'the computer said no.'
Cough.

--
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
photos at http://homepage.mac.com/davidhornecomposer

On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 14:05:42 +0100, [email protected]
wrote:

    > Tim Challenger <[email protected]> wrote:
    >
    >> On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 13:57:55 +0100, [email protected]
    >> wrote:
    >>
    >>> Tim Challenger <[email protected]> wrote:
    >>>
    >>> []
    >>>> I've found my Austrian cashpoint card works just about every where, except
    >>>> in Italian and Swiss petrol stations. Then nothing works.
    >>>
    >>> Yes, when it comes to non-ATM transactions, I find that it can be a bit
    >>> hit or miss in some countries. For ATM transactions though, I expect my
    >>> card to work almost anywhere, and it usually does. On the few occasions
    >>> it won't, I put that down to network problems- either with my bank or
    >>> the one I was trying to use. The problem rarely persists though.
    >>
    >> I've had this in Switzerland for the last 12 years at petrol stations. It
    >> is getting better now though, at larger places. The stickers on the pumps
    >> say it should work but it rarely does. As for ATMs in banks etc, I've not
    >> had any problems.
    >> Italy is just because I think everything is broken.
    >
    > By ATM transaction, I meant just when you put the card in a hole in the
    > wall to get cash. With other things, yes, I've found that flaky.
    > Pleasant when it works (such as with the automated metro ticket machines
    > in cities like Vienna or Berlin) but not a huge surprise when it
    > doesn't- such as in Paris.

I'm used to that working everywhere. Even tiny sweet-shops have an ATM/till
terminal here.

    > The only experience I have buying petrol on
    > mainland europe was when offering to fill up my brother's car in Norway-
    > to paraphrase the Little Britain character, 'the computer said no.'
    > Cough.

embarrassing, isn't it? :-)

--
Tim C.