[nly]

I thought it was the US that was still considered a hot bed for card fraud.

I've been to stores in the US where they just swipe your magstrip and hand you back the card. No signature, no pin, they don't even look at it, so you can basically clone cards like it's still 1985.

This is consistent with how my UK bank treats any transaction occurring in the US: usually it's an instant card block and a polite phone call from them to check that it was actually me.

[enchiridion]

That just sounds like basic geo-fencing. I'm sure the opposite applies too.

Sounds like the other response about transaction fees is on the right track.