There is no radio conversation in the most typical setup. The payment terminal has electrical connection to the contact surfaces of the smart card. While eavesd

There is no radio conversation in the most typical setup. The payment terminal has electrical connection to the contact surfaces of the smart card. While eavesdropping this link might be possible as well, it must require a lot more sophisticated equipment than stripe skimming. Wireless payment by NFC is also a possibility, but at least with my card, no payments bigger than 25€ can be done through NFC.