A change in travel may be on the way. However, unlike most things, we may be going backwards rather than forwards as many travelers may be exchanging and carrying cash rather than using debit and credit cards.
In a recent New York Times article, For Americans, Plastic Buys Less Abroad, new technology in credit cards in Europe and other countries may be making the magnetic stripe cards in the US more difficult to use. The new cards are called chip-and-PIN cards which store information on the card which is accessed by a pin making counterfeiting and fraud more difficult. While many stores will still accept the magnetic stripe cards used in the US, kiosks and many ATMs may not making it more difficult to make purchases and access cash.
While Europe is leading the way in this new credit card technology, these aren't the only countries using it. Mexico, Brazil, and Japan are also using the chip-and-PIN cards with China, Canada, and Latin American countries rolling this out soon. Unfortunately, the US banks don't seem to be in a hurry to make this move which may make traveling a bit more difficult as cash, exhanging currency, and more old fashioned ways of traveling may be necessary. For Americans traveling abroad, it may be out with the new and back in with the old.
While this may or may not be a huge hindrance in traveling, it is something to be aware of. One of the scariest things that can happen is landing in a different country and then realizing you have no access to money. And from recent comments and articles out there, the inconvenience caused by this is real.
If anyone has had experiences with this, please feel free to share. The more we understand the effects of this on our travels, the more well informed we can be. Hopefully, this isn't as scary as it sounds but we all need to be made aware of these changes which could impact our travels.
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