[occamrazor]

From experience in two European countries, this is not always the case. I have both a Visa and MC cards which can be used in contactless mode for transactions of any size, up to the card limit. For low amounts (<40EUR) the PIN is not requested. For larger transactions I have to enter the PIN, but I don't need the chip.

[Jaruzel]

In the UK, Contactless is PIN free, hence the low floor limit. Anything over that amount (£30 typically) requires Chip+PIN, and remote authentication.