I have a card often quoted as the one to use abroad. Recently it was refused when put in a Madrid hotel's chip & pin reader. I've heard that UK cards are a common problem in French petrol stations too and this is due to ther being two chip&pin standards and that UK cards use the less secure of the two standards. Is this true? If so, what are UK banks doing about it?
This has happened to me twice now, the other being a bank ATM. Both times it was VISA which was refused but my backup Mastercard worked. Is there a difference between chip&pin standards or technology on VISA and Mastercard?
(Note: in both cases VISA and Mastercard logos were displayed).