Chip-and-PIN (EMV) requires the card to be inserted into the payment terminal. The PIN can be verified online or offline (using the cryptographic hardware on th

Chip-and-PIN (EMV) requires the card to be inserted into the payment terminal. The PIN can be verified online or offline (using the cryptographic hardware on the card). On a recent trip to the US, most places I saw had the requisite hardware, but they almost always still swiped my card. A lot of low value transactions are now done by Contactless in Europe (adoption varies by country). Typically there is a limit per transaction (€30 in my country) and per day. Above this amount you will be prompted to enter the PIN (without inserting the card). Most banks also require you to enter the PIN every X transactions. As I understand it, almost all new terminals support Contactless, it's just a question of whether that merchant and their issuing bank have it enabled. The same hardware can be used for Apple/Google/Samsung pay as well.