[toast0]

One of my credit unions gives out (randomized) five digit pins (although they say if you use an atm that only accepts four digit pins, the first four is enough). My other credit union only does four digits.

I think remembering one 6-digit PIN would be fine, but in the US, it's common to have many banking relationships. If I needed a pin for every credit card, I'd have to write them on the cards or set them all the same.

[eqvinox]

Not sure how this is handled in Switzerland, and I don't have good data on this, but I'd say a lot of people in Europe have at least a debit and a credit card with a PIN each.

Also nothing says you can't use the same PIN for multiple cards; they're essentially the same security domain anyway ("a piece of plastic in your wallet") — most people don't have "more" and "less" trustworthy cards…

[toast0]

> Also nothing says you can't use the same PIN for multiple cards; they're essentially the same security domain anyway ("a piece of plastic in your wallet") — most people don't have "more" and "less" trustworthy cards…

Why not have the same password for all your banking accounts then? But everyone says not to reuse passwords.

If someone takes your wallet, it'd be nice if they don't drain all the accounts based on figuring out the pin of one card?

[eqvinox]

Because in most cases you already use your card interchangeably across a wide variety of (hopefully sealed and certified) terminal devices.

Meanwhile your password is very specific to one website, and never entering it elsewhere is key to phising prevention.

(my "security domain" comment was probably worded a bit poorly with the reference to your wallet, the relevant point is that most people consider card terminals interchangeable.)

[fsckboy]

>Also nothing says you can't use the same PIN for multiple cards

he said he can't choose his PIN:

>One of my credit unions gives out (randomized) five digit pins

[GoblinSlayer]

All cards have randomized pins and can later be changed.

[fsckboy]

no, some cards you choose the PIN from the start and never get a randomized PIN

some banks some place in the world might make it a policy not to set PINs but to force random, you can't definitively say what you are saying, rather we can only go by what he said.

[eqvinox]

Nothing in this sentence

> One of my credit unions gives out (randomized) five digit pins (although they say if you use an atm that only accepts four digit pins, the first four is enough).

says that the PIN on that card can't be changed.