[messe]

> Contactless had no hope with a PIN

I’m not sure if it’s true for all EU countries and banks, but in general you don’t put in your PIN every time with contactless. The card usually works for a number of transactions without a PIN, often up to a certain limit, after which it asks you to insert it again.

[JumpCrisscross]

> in general you don’t put in your PIN every time with contactless

As an American, I never get prompted in Europe for a PIN. Even for large transactions. That matches a swipe's convenience.

[djxfade]

I believe this is controlled by your issuer. So your card issuer probably don't require PIN after n amount of swipes.

[matthewdgreen]

It is arbitrary and random. Some machines will ask for it and others won’t. Some automated machines will refuse US cards altogether. Wait til you’re at a tollbooth entering the Autoroute trying to use all your US cards, and none of them are accepted.

[messe]

Even Visa/MasterCard?