Credit Cards: No Need to Sign
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There was a time when a signature for a credit card purchase was necessary. Sometimes, the clerk even looked to see if the signature resembled the handwriting on the back of the credit card. It seems as though the necessity of a signature is passing:
“Some stores have a new policy. They don’t require a signature for credit card payments below a certain amount.
Jim, a reader, recently made a small purchase at Loblaws with his President’s Choice MasterCard.
“I was astonished to learn that a signature is not required for under $100. It is written on the receipt,” he said in an email.”
link: No need to sign on the dotted line
It would seem that, with the increase in identity theft and unauthorized transactions, merchants would be still more vigilant about credit card transactions. However, speed is translated into production - besides, that identity theft issue is the customer’s problem and not a concern for the store.
Catherine Forsythe
[tags]credit cards, signature, security, identity theft, speed[/tags]
6 Comments
MArk Epelbaum
August 4th, 2007
at 4:32pm
i recently recieved my citi paypass (RFID key dongle and credit card) http://www.citibank.com/us/cards/promos/paypass/index-a.htm
it doesnt require a signature on purchases under $20 and even to slide your card. although the limit is $150 a day it still seems to be much faster and convenient than sliding a card.
MA
August 5th, 2007
at 5:08am
When companies determine that it costs more to investigate and challenge any chargebacks below whatever threshold than they’d save by doing so, it makes more financial sense to reduce the amount of time cashiers and customers interact they may as well save the cashiers’ and customers’ time in collecting the signature… Across sufficiently large organizations, the aggregate reduction in staffing costs would be many millions of dollars.
Dodson
August 5th, 2007
at 9:06am
…no “signature” is required for internet or telephone purchases made with a credit-card — and millions of these ‘no-signature’ transactions successfully happen every day.
Thus, it’s obvious that “signatures” are a quaint anachronism — retail brick & mortar merchants are just starting to catch up with reality.
Logg.Nu » (Check credit report identity theft) Search Records for Information on Identity Theft
August 6th, 2007
at 11:50am
[...] Credit Cards: No Need to SignCredit Cards: No Need to Sign by forsythe on August 4, 2007 at 3:26 pm Comments (1) Related Posts Categorized in General There was a time when a signature for a credit card purchase was necessary. Sometimes, the clerk even looked to see if the signature resembled the handwriting on the back of the credit card [...]
Mike
August 6th, 2007
at 2:00pm
Does it really matter anyway? I think I even read an article on Lockergnome regarding some guy signing names other than his own including fictitious ones and the cashiers never questioned them…
No one looks at this anymore since the records are electronic now. Who cares if a store forces you to sign or not…if the store isn’t actually looking at the signature it really doesn’t matter if it’s the thief signing or me–how’s the clerk going to know.
peace
Stephen James
August 7th, 2007
at 5:27pm
I wish signatures would go away completely!
I do not sign my cards either. I would know if they were missing, if they ever were missing.
I do get asked for my photo id every so often.