Today marks the day that Australia has moved to PIN only for all credit card transactions. Fortunately this change only applies to Australian issued cards used in Australia and not tourists, that said for those travelling to Australia it will become more difficult to sign for your transactions.
I’ve recently been to Australia twice for work related stuff and almost every PoS machine had information regarding this change. Several times when I chose to sign for my transaction the clerk would remind me that this wouldn’t be possible after the August 1st deadline.
For those planning to visit Australia without a PIN + chip capable card, be prepared to explain to every clerk you deal with that you can in fact use a signature. There are also quite a few unmanned terminals at train stations and the like which will not work with a magnetic strip card or signature card, fortunately there is also usually somebody working a ticket desk at the major tourist destinations (e.g the airport).
If you travel to Australia after the change, let us know how it goes and what difficulties you encountered. If you want a chip & PIN card, your best bet is to look through this list compiled and updated on FlyerTalk. If you’re using a card that has a PIN set, keep in mind that Visa & MasterCard will currently not extend their liability waiver for unauthorized transactions. This means if somebody steals your card and accesses or guesses your PIN and then uses it for fraudulent purchases or ATM withdrawals you’re not covered. MasterCard will cover these transactions starting October 2014. American Express seem to cover these transactions and Discover doesn’t have any EMV + PIN products currently. It’s interesting to note that all of the major card processors cover PIN transactions for Australian issued cards.
I am travelling to Australia in November with my Barclay’s Arrival Plus. Keeping my fingers crossed that the credit card works with the pin!