More often than not, the unattended kiosks you find in many countries won't even take cash because a goal is to eliminate cash and coin management and vandalism. So that can affect metro and train tickets, highway toll booths, gas pumps, parking garages and other places where there are no cashiers. The alternatives are carrying around cash. ATM's accept many cards whether they have a chip or a magnetic stripe.

In Europe, The Italian Tourist Card serves the same service as a pre-paid GSM phone you can buy or rent at airports overseas. This is even more convenient as you can pick it up at your hotel in Milan. It's pre-loaded in Euros to give Americans spending money to use at railways stations as well as discounts at museums, movies and entertainment venues, and free access to ATMs.

You can also voice your interest in getting an internationally-accepted EMV chip card at GetFluentC.com. EMV is a payment standard adopted by MasterCard, Visa, American Express and JCB to ensure that credit cards with chips in them work with point-of-sale terminals and ATMs anywhere in the world.

See also, Are there websites where travelers are sharing their experiences and where I can get advice on international payment?