Hi,

Apologies if this has been asked before, but I searched and couldn't find anything...

I've just got my first Swiss credit card, and coming from the UK am a little confused. Although the card has a (6 digit!) PIN number, everywhere I have used it so far has asked me to put it into their card reader, confirm the amount by pressing OK, and then they give the card back and ask me to sign a slip without entering my PIN number (and without ever bothering to check the signature on the back of the card). So far I have just used it for my shopping in Manor and Coop. Is this normal? Why don't they use the Chip and Pin?

Secondly, I just ordered some ink cartridges for my printer over the internet from a Swiss shop, and the ONLY payment option was that they would send me a bill for payment once the goods have been received. No where was there an option to pay by credit card. I've never come across anything like this in the UK. Again, is this normal?

Thanks very much,
Nick

Didn't they give you a debit card for your account? Normally Maestro, this is what most people use day to day

Yes it's normal.

I don't know the answer but the card does actually have chip and pin. Most places you need to sign but some places, e.g. garages when paying for petrol, require a pin entry.

Yes quite normal, lots of places send the bill after they have delivered the goods. Wouldn't work in UK would it?

They do use chip and pin. You need to ask for a Maestro (debit card)

When you use a Credit Card at the counter, as you have been, it is not chip and pin so all one has to do is sign the slip.

Thanks all for the replies.

I did get a Maestro debit card with the account as well, but in the UK I was used to paying for everything by credit card and then paying off the full balance at the end of the month. That way I get my points (was cashback in the UK!) and don't get charged any interest. It seems a bit strange to have the Chip and Pin technology but then not use it, and not even do the basic signature security check. I'd better make sure I don't lose the card!!

Paying after delivery definitely wouldn't work in the UK. How cool that they are so trusting

Thanks again,
Nick

If you use a maestro, it is (mostly) with pin+chip. Perhaps the cc's are not in the system?

A lot of webshops do not take cc, and when they do, they add a couple of % for the pleasure.

ATOH, I understand that. I was looking for taking cc for our vacation house rental, and processing fees were easily 4-5%.

Sorry, one more question:

If I buy something on-line and get sent the bill, is there a way of paying the bill on-line, or do I have to go to the Post Office?

Thanks!

You should receive an Orange payment slip. I have yet to see an online bank that doesn't have a facility for paying these online.

If you're bank has online banking, you can usualy do the orange or red slips online, as well as direct debits and regular transactions.

Super. Sorry for the dumb newbie questions but it's all quite different from the UK.

Thanks again everyone.

My (free if you spend CHF300/year) Jelmoli Visa CC has a chip and pin. My local BP station won't accept payment by CC without a pin...

It is slowly comming into use also here (chip + pin with credit card) but it is no where near as common as in Scandinavia for example. I think it is a mix of habit and new technology. While the pin code has been in use for CC in many other countries for years, it is a fairly recent thing here and I suspect that most shops still have old machines that doesn't support the functionality. And the users are not used to using it and sign the receipt instead out of habit.

Soon to have the option of the SBB Half-tax for free according to Blickamabend.ch