Mastercard, Discover and Amex Ending Signature Requirement for Purchases Tomorrow, Visa to Follow Later This Month

[MacRumors]

Starting tomorrow, the major credit card companies in the United States are officially eliminating the signature requirement for purchases, marking an end to a long running but increasingly unnecessary policy.

American Express, Visa, Discover, and Mastercard first announced plans to end credit card signatures late last year, but have now confirmed to The Verge that the policy change will go into effect starting on April 13. American Express, Mastercard, and Discover all plan to stop requiring signatures tomorrow, while Visa plans to follow later in the month.

Credit and debit card companies have long required signatures for purchases as an added security measure, but with technology improvements that include contactless payments and the adoption of EMV chip technology, signatures are an outdated authentication method.

Officially eliminating signatures when making a purchase will allow for a more consistent, streamlined, and speedy checkout experience for both merchants and cardholders. It should also streamline the Apple Pay experience in the United States, as a signature can on occasion be required for purchases over $50 when using Apple Pay, a step that will be eliminated when the signature changes become official.

American Express plans to end the signature requirement in the United States and other countries around the world, while Mastercard will eliminate it in the United States and Canada. Discover plans to end signatures in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, and Visa is making signatures optional in North America for companies that offer chip systems.

All merchants continue to be able to collect signatures if required to do so by an applicable law in a particular jurisdiction.

Article Link: Mastercard, Discover and Amex Ending Signature Requirement for Purchases Tomorrow, Visa to Follow Later This Month

 

[Saipher]

It's about time. No one checks for signatures anyway.

 

[nwcs]

Now we just need to end the scourge of swiping a magnetic strip. Oh, and make all these contactless systems be unified in some way so we can use our ApplePay, googlePay, etc. without the gamesmanship. And eliminate the silly QR barcode payment crap.

 

[harriska2]

Over the years I’ve noticed most places that take the chipped visa do not require signature under $50.
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Now we just need to end the scourge of swiping a magnetic strip. Oh, and make all these contactless systems be unified in some way so we can use our ApplePay, googlePay, etc. without the gamesmanship. And eliminate the silly QR barcode payment crap.

What’s the QR barcode payment? Haven’t come across that.

 

[itsmilo]

And still no tap to pay in the us ... this is even faster than Apple Pay

 

[RNGesus]

Good. I don't know what it is lately but whenever I go get fast food they ask me for a signature in the drive thru. Don't really remember having to do that all the time up until recently. I really should pay with Apple Pay as much as I possibly can.

 

[Jeaz]

I've seen this discussion before but never really understood it fully to be honest.

I'm from Europe and here we use PIN-codes. Is that replacing the signatures or will there be no verification at all?

 

[peterh988]

I've seen this discussion before but never really understood it fully to be honest.

I'm from Europe and here we use PIN-codes. Is that replacing the signatures or will there be no verification at all?

Yep, we must have been signature free for going on 20 years now? I think you're only allowed to sign if your card chip fails 3 times. I had to do it once, cashier said it was the first time he'd ever done a signature transaction.

 

[0815]

About time ... I often sign with XXX and nobody ever said anything or compared with what is on my card.

 

[kildraik]

Man. I can no longer sign with phallic shapes or smiley faces. Good times.

To the future, away!

 

[Yellowbean12]

I can't believe this is the way Americans pay for stuff. Crazy.

 

[v0lume4]

Now we just need to end the scourge of swiping a magnetic strip. Oh, and make all these contactless systems be unified in some way so we can use our ApplePay, googlePay, etc. without the gamesmanship. And eliminate the silly QR barcode payment crap.

I don't think physical cards themselves are going away for a very long time. And since they aren't, I frankly MUCH prefer swiping as opposed to inserting my card for the chip -- the chip is way slower.

 

[kildraik]

I've seen this discussion before but never really understood it fully to be honest.

I'm from Europe and here we use PIN-codes. Is that replacing the signatures or will there be no verification at all?

In the US we only utilise PINs for debit cards. Even then, you can simply override entering a PIN by pressing, “enter,” or, “accept.” 100% fraud enabling. I’ve also never been asked for an ID to verify the name on a card. We’ve always been behind on security and verification.

 

[v0lume4]

It's about darn time. The required signatures are the relic of a time long ago. I don't even sign the back of my credits cards.

Going into a store, paying, and then signing some small receipt (which is difficult to keep flat on the counter) is bizarre. It's totally normal -- those of us in the USA are used to doing it. But if you stop and think about what's happening you realize, "Why am I doing this?"

 

[alphaod]

Signatures never any sense. My signature never looks the same.

 

[Jgreg00]

And still no tap to pay in the us ... this is even faster than Apple Pay

A lot of places have tap to pay...I just used it inside a gas station yesterday. It is fast once you have your card in hand, but overall having to find a credit card, use it, put it back is probably no faster than ApplePay.

 

[Junipr]

Terrible move. I’ve spent years adapting my signing technique to make it secure. No one can copy it.

April fools was weeks ago buddy

 

[Doctor Q]

Tweaking machinery as big as the credit card industry is remarkably difficult. This change, a long time coming, is one more step in the evolution of payment systems.

I wonder if the time savings, which amount to a few seconds per seller&buyer per transaction, will have a measurable effect on commerce. After all, they're able to tell us a dollar equivalent for the time people spend in traffic jams. What about the time we spend signing our names?

 

[xpxp2002]

I don't think physical cards themselves are going away for a very long time. And since they aren't, I frankly MUCH prefer swiping as opposed to inserting my card for the chip -- the chip is way slower.

Who cares? The mag stripe is a lot less secure.

That being said, tap-to-pay is as secure as and faster than EMV. We should be striving for tap-to-pay everywhere instead of this mishmash of insecure MSRs, slow EMV terminals, proprietary QR codes, and a few select places that actually accept tap-to-pay/Apple Pay.

 

[thisismyusername]

I'm from Europe and here we use PIN-codes. Is that replacing the signatures or will there be no verification at all?

No verification at all. The US doesn't use chip and pin cards like Europe does. We use chip and signature cards. They are different. Even though our credit cards look just like yours and have a chip, they don't support a pin unless it's actually a debit card in which case the pin is only for debit transactions and not credit card transactions. Apparently, the US thinks we're too stupid to remember a pin number for our credit cards.

There are actually some US chip-and-pin credit cards here but they are rare and the pin is often times intended only for international transactions. They are usually credit cards geared for international travelers.

Yes, we're stupid over here when it comes to credit card security.

 

[b11051973]

My signature for credit card purchases looks like a disaster anyway. If they are trying to compare that to anything, they're going to have a hard time. You got these stupid screens at weird angles. I pretty much just put a squiggly line on the screen.

 

[Altis]

Who cares? The mag stripe is a lot less secure.

That being said, tap-to-pay is as secure as and faster than EMV. We should be striving for tap-to-pay everywhere instead of this mishmash of insecure MSRs, slow EMV terminals, proprietary QR codes, and a few select places that actually accept tap-to-pay/Apple Pay.

We've had chip+PIN and tap-to-pay (no signature, up to ~$100) on credit cards for many years in Canada.

At least with tap-to-pay, it works pretty much everywhere and you don't have to fiddly around with your phone (especially with iOS's sluggish tendencies).

 

[AManInACan]

And still no tap to pay in the us ... this is even faster than Apple Pay

Tap to pay is "contactless payment" which is also what enables Apple Pay except that instead of a tap to pay card you use an Apple device.

https://usa.visa.com/visa-everywhere/innovation/tap-to-pay-with-contactless-cards.html

 

[lkrupp]

I have no doubt that proving someone signed a credit card receipt would be extremely difficult based on my own scribbling. I have stood by others in the checkout line who simply made some marks on the receipt and called it a day. Signatures have always been worthless as security checks. Yet not two weeks ago I paid with Apple Pay at a Firehouse Subs restaurant only to have the clerk ask me to sign the receipt even though it had no place on it to do so. I asked the clerk where to sign and she said, “Anywhere.” I was in disbelief.

 

[walnuts]

I'm often required to do signatures using Apple Pay for purchases even under $20. Is this something that will count on retailer support? If so, I suspect a ton of small, non-chain retailers will never bother to do this, which is a bummer.