US Credit Cards Not Guaranteed to Work Overseas

This article from Consumer Man on MSN, points to the new trend that 130 countries have dumped credit cards with "magnetic strips in favor of smart cards with microchips." This revelation could be very frustrating for business travelers with company credit cards and for travelers equipped with their own magnetic strip credit card.

The transition from magnetic strip to smart cards is a step towards reducing fraud. Cards with a magnetic strip are fairly easy to counterfeit while smart cards are more difficult to duplicate, "because the account information is encrypted and stored on a chip embedded in the card.The transaction is not authorized without the correct personal identification code. That’s why this technology is called chip-and-pin."

Consumers who travel abroad have voiced their concerns to US banks and credit unions, read more in the article to find out which banks are testing and soft launching smart chip credit cards. The author also recommends options for those who cannot obtain these new cards so read up!