If you have traveled abroad in the last year or so, you likely experienced your credit card being declined by a merchant even though funds were available and you let your bank know where and when you were traveling. Many countries including the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and others have implemented a “chip and pin” (or EMV) technology for processing cards in order to reduce fraud. This has made our US-issued cards antiquated and often unable to be read by merchants with newer card technology, resulting in your purchase being denied. To help ensure smoother travels, request a replacement card from your bank that has an embedded microchip and 4-digit pin number before doing any foreign travel, or find a bank that will.