Carte Bleue (English: Blue Card) is a major debit card payment system operating in France. Unlike Visa Electron or Maestro debit cards, Carte Bleue allows transactions without requiring authorization from the cardholder's bank. In many situations, the card works 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 are part of CB, but not all CB cards are Carte Bleue.
The system is national, and pure Carte Bleue cards do not operate outside France. However, it is possible and commonplace to get Carte Bleue Visa card that operates outside France. Carte Bleue is, technically speaking, the local affiliate of Visa (All Visa card in France are also Carte Bleue). Today, most cards can also double with the electronic cash system Mon€o.
Carte Bleue started in 1967, associating six French banks (BNP, CCF, Crédit du Nord, CIC, Crédit Lyonnais, and Société Générale. Combined Visa cards exist 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 cards. 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 machines 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 2003, the Cartes Bleues / CB started to move on to the international standard EMV for smart chips, allowing for their use abroad.
A minority of Cartes Bleues are credit cards tied to credit lines.