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MasterCard Has Finally Realized That Signatures Are Obsolete and Stupid (fastcompany.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: For years, credit card companies have relied on an illegible squiggly line as the frontline of defense against credit card fraud. Customers are forced to use a pen (how retro!) to scrawl their signature on bills at restaurants and sign digitally at cash registers -- as if somehow in the age of chips, PINs, biometrics, and online fraud alerts, a line on a page is still a great tool against fraud prevention. Personally, I have been known to sign on the dotted line with a doodle of a piece of tofu and no one has ever stopped me, because signatures mean very little in this digital age. Companies are finally seeing the light. Starting in April 2018, MasterCard cardholders will no longer be required to sign their name when they purchase something using their debit or credit cards. The company has been moving away from requiring signatures for a few years now, with only about 80% of purchases (typically over a certain dollar amount) requiring a signature these days. MasterCard did some digging, though, and per its press release, realized that most of their customers "believe it would be easier to pay and that checkout lines would move faster if they didn't need to sign when making a purchase."
Well, technically no merchant is allowed to check ID, or accept a card with check ID written.
The USPS is simply not violating the contract they signed when getting a merchant account.
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
Perhaps technically, but in the countless years I've done it on all my cards, I've never had a problem anywhere. Including the USPS.
Would be nice to see the USA crawl its way a bit out of the stone ages of credit card processing compared with the rest of the world. We shop in Canada a ton and their chip systems validate cards in 1-2 seconds, their portable wireless devices at restaurants are high-tech and slick, and PINs offer far more security than a signature. At this point, needing to use a signature is a shopping/dining speedbump akin to writing a physical check... justifiably seen as archaic and idiotic given modern knowledge and technologies. I find myself apologizing to the Canadians for it more than they apologize in general.
Took us forever to get chips while the rest of the world left us in the dust, and we're still stuck using stupid signatures. We had plenty of shame and were the laughing stock of the world well before Trump became the pinnacle of national embarrassment, but still.
Hell 99% of the time they don't even check ID. *facepalm*
That's because most merchant service providers don't require that the merchant look at the customer's ID. While some networks (MasterCard, VISA, Discover, AmEx) allow the merchant to reasonably verify that the customer is the authorized card holder, some also explicitly FORBID a merchant accept a credit card that is not signed, this is why they ask you to sign the card before they can accept it.
Many years ago, while working retail when you still had to use a 'knuckle buster' when accepting a credit card, our store was audited and we were fined for accepting an unsigned card. Merchant service providers don't seem to do things like this any longer.
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law - Aleister Crowley
Foreigners visiting the US have to go inside to pay for gas because our gas pumps required the billing ZIP code when paying by credit card. So be aware and pick the less sketchy looking places to fill up because you're going to be forced to go inside to pay.
For Canadians there is a trick to that: just use the 3 numbers in your Postal Code, plus 00. EG: postal code V1Z 2A3, use zip 12300. I tried that a few months back at dozens of stations, works great. Not sure about other countries though.
It was also used as "proof" if there was a dispute. For the same reason people sign legal documents. A PIN is in no way comparable. It is not intended to be an asbolute authentication, but to prevent or stop casual theft or fraud.
I had a credit card for several years that had my signature and photo on the front, so that it could be compared to my face and signature. I liked using that one, I rarely had to dig out additional forms of ID with my picture.
My friend would not sign his card, but instead write "please ask for photo ID". That way a signature was never used as authentication. Not foolproof, as he said sometimes cashiers never even loook at the back of the card to do any form of verification (probably because people have gotten used to treating these things like cash).
Having worked retail... I would argue no one checks it, because the customers keep trying to do their own thing relentlessly.
We were trained to NOT accept "Please Ask for Photo ID" and every other weird combination they came up with. But customers would insist on that, or insist on not putting anything on the back of their cards, or would even use their spouse's card, or their friend's card, or or or or or or... Meanwhile... You have a line building up behind the precious snowflake with the exception and everyone screaming at you "What's the big deal?"
So you finally just start waving everyone through.
Don't get me wrong, I'm sure some people always waved them through. But there's no right answer when you're trying, because it seemed like every single individual had some damn exception they're trying to push on you.
It's all about getting the money. Funniest story a former colleague told me, son had borrowed dad's credit card to go drink... and he started out sober and signed in his dad's name, but as the night passed he got so drunk he started signing with his own name. Son returned the card, dad disputed the mysterious charges without knowing any of this. They called back, told him he'd better have a chat with his son. Dad confronted son, son denied it and apparently dad was still not convinced because he went like "But he said he didn't do it!" and my colleague was like *facepalm*.
They sent him copies of the slips, son finally admitted it and dad was like "But I didn't sign for this, can't I still dispute it?" and my colleague went like "Sure... no problem after all you didn't spend it. But we have more or less a written confession here plus this conversation on tape and then we'd have to report it to the police for theft of the card, fraud of the money and document fraud. Up to you." and dad went like "Uhm... I'll get back to you." The dispute was dropped, case closed at least from the credit company's side...
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
I've had a couple tell me my card wasn't signed. (I tend to write "See ID" but it wore off.)
I had one insane individual who insisted they couldn't complete the sale if the card didn't have a signature on it because the card signature had to match the slip signature. She would not accept "See ID" or cross-check my ID. So she made me sign the card while standing in front of her, and then compared the signature I just put on the card with the signature I just put on the slip. What would that prove? I do not know. But I did it, and then smudged it off before putting the card back in my wallet.
I have had many, many, many cashiers flip over the card, stare at the strip (either blank or with "See ID" on it) and then flip it back over and hand it to me. I don't know if it's an old reflex that lost its purpose and became ritual, or if they're just putting on a pose for the camera.
I've had a few ask to see ID. Some seem to do it for all purchases, often asking or apologizing before they've even really looked at the card. A few actually read the card and then ask. I always thank the latter for being diligent.
The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
I'm guessing you're the asshole that refuses to accept unsigned cards, and that you have experience getting fired because you refused a sale over it?
Im not an asshole, I just don't see the value in providing easy access to my signature which could then be used to forge important documents where it is actually necessary.
The card isn't valid unless signed. Strictly speaking, you then have a choice to either sign the card or not use it. The AC is in the right, you're in the wrong. People aren't assholes for doing their job correctly. People are assholes for giving them grief, for doing their job correctly. That being said, you are like most people... including me. That is, except I wouldn't be a dick about it if someone said something.