''Carte Bleue'' () was a major

debit card A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card, is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The card usually consists of the bank's name, a card number, the cardholder's name, and an expiration date, on either ...

payment system operating in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Unlike Visa Electron or Maestro debit cards, Carte Bleue transactions worked without requiring authorization from the cardholder's bank. In many situations, the card worked like a credit card but without fees for the cardholder. The system has now been integrated into a wider scheme called CB or ''carte bancaire'' ("banking card"). All Carte Bleue cards were part of CB, but not all CB cards were Carte Bleue. The system was national, and pure Carte Bleue cards did not operate outside France. However, it is possible and commonplace to get a CB Visa card that operates outside France. Carte Bleue was, technically speaking, the local Visa affiliate. Carte Bleue started in 1967, associating six French banks: BNP, CCF, Crédit du Nord, CIC, Crédit Lyonnais, and Société Générale. Combined Visa cards have existed since 1973 under the name ''Carte Bleue Internationale'', changing to ''Carte Bleue Visa'' in 1976. From 1992 on, all Cartes Bleues / CB have been

smart card A smart card (SC), chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card), is a card used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an Embedded system, embedded integrated circuit (IC) chip. Many smart ...

s. When using a Carte Bleue at a French merchant, the PIN of the card must be used, and a microchip on the card verifies and authenticates the transaction. Only some very limited transactions, such as motorway tolls or parking fees, are paid without PIN. Since

automatic teller machine An automated teller machine (ATM) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, funds transfers, balance inquiries or account ...

s also check for the PIN, this measure strongly reduces the incentive to steal Cartes Bleues, since the cards are essentially useless without the PIN (though one may try using the card number for mail-order or e-retailing). Foreign cards without microchips can still be used at French merchants if they accept them, with the usual procedure of swiping the magnetic stripe and signing the receipt. In 2000, Serge Humpich, after failing to convince the makers of a serious flaw he had found two years before, purchased some metro tickets to prove it. He sent the proof to Groupement des Cartes Bancaires. They then initiated criminal action against him, and he was convicted and sentenced to a ten months suspended jail sentence. In 2003, the Cartes Bleues / CB started to move on to the international standard

EMV EMV is a payment method based on a technical standard for smart card, smart payment cards and for payment terminals and automated teller machines which can accept them. EMV stands for "Europay International, Europay, Mastercard, and Visa Inc., ...

for smart chips, allowing for their use abroad. In 2010, the Carte Bleue brand was phased out in favour of Visa; however, the term ''carte bleue'' continues to be used as a generic term for EFT-based

payment cards Payment cards are part of a payment system issued by financial institutions, such as a bank, to a customer that enables its owner (the cardholder) to access the funds in the customer's designated bank accounts, or through a credit account and mak ...

, including debit and credit cards.

References

External links

Official Site of Carte Bleue
{{Credit cards Financial services companies established in 1967 Products and services discontinued in 2010 1967 establishments in France 2010 disestablishments in France Smart cards Debit cards Debit card issuer associations Credit card issuer associations

See also

References

External links