Following Other Credit Cards, Visa Will Also Stop Requiring Signatures (siliconbeat.com)

An anonymous reader quotes SiliconBeat: Visa, the largest U.S. credit card issuer, became the last of the major credit card companies to announce its plan to make signatures optional... Visa joined American Express, Discover, and Mastercard in the phase-out. Mastercard was the first one to announce the move in October, and American Express and Discover followed suit in December... However, this change does not apply to every credit card in circulation; older credit cards without EMV chips will still require signatures for authentication... Since 2011, Visa has deployed more than 460 million EMV chip cards and EMV chip-enabled readers at more than 2.5 million locations.
"Businesses that accepted EMV cards reported a 66 percent decline in fraud in the first two years of EMV deployment," the article notes -- suggesting a future where fewer shoppers are signing their receipts.

"In Canada, Australia and most of Europe, credit cards have long abandoned the signature for the EMV chip and a PIN to authenticate the transaction, like one does with a debit card."

Comments

Turn on your damn chip reader

[L. J. Beauregard]

Does this also apply to merchants who won't turn on their damn chip readers?

Re:Turn on your damn chip reader

[Anonymous Coward]

The signature isn't for verification. It's all about signing saying you agree to the charges and agree to pay. The signature doesn't even get sent to the clearing house. I've scribbled,signed heywood blowme, Dick Hertz, Mike Hunt,....and never heard a thing about it.
The signature is just a stupid throwback to the days of the paper credit card slips.

Re: Turn on your damn chip reader

[Anonymous Coward]

No. The ones the rest of the world uses successfully and reliably.

Join the first world America

[Anonymous Coward]

N/t

Re:The dying art of editing

[PvtVoid]

This. Transaction verification is a long-solved problem that Americans refuse to adopt because we're too fucking stupid.

PIN no need for chip

[markdavis]

>"In Canada, Australia and most of Europe, credit cards have long abandoned the signature for the EMV chip and a PIN to authenticate the transaction, like one does with a debit card."

We never needed a "chip" in the first place. Many millions of dollars wasted to overhaul everything- replacing readers, putting in chips, replacing all cards, updating interfaces and software- and still no PIN! A PIN code is a password. If required, without it, a card would be useless (at least in physical transactions, which is all we are really talking about anyway, since on-line can't use "chip readers"). Doesn't matter if it is a valid card, a stolen card, or a "made up" (cloned) card- put in the wrong PIN too many times and POOF, the account is frozen.

A password/PIN is required for my phone, my Email, my work account, Slashdot, my bank card, voicemail, calling to discuss my cable TV account, just about everything.... except credit cards??? Do they REALLY think people can't handle at least a freaking 4 digit number password in 2018?

>"Businesses that accepted EMV cards reported a 66 percent decline in fraud in the first two years of EMV deployment,"

Add a PIN, and then get a 99% decline in in-person fraud. Again, chip security does NOTHING for online security. Develop a PIN for use online and watch fraud drop tremendously there, too.

Signing is for your protection, not the bank's

[davecb]

If you sign, you can prove it if someone forges your signature.

It's not for the bank or the merchant: merchants want to get rid of them, so they won't have to repay false charges.

PINs and the like are way too insecure: for example, see https://www.lightbluetouchpape...

Chip and pin is STILL more secure than signing

[aepervius]

Signing means only somebody need to know your signature and imitate it, and as far as I can tell it isn't for fraud and signature comparison, as yourself can fake a signature, no this is about accepting the sale as a contract. The CC company does not care at all about comparing signature for fraud as it is utterly stupid (Not difficult for most people to imitate it, especially that you are supposed to sign your card in the back, therefore signature CANNOT be a security device , as it is known by the card holder). Stealing pins and the attack mentioned OTOH ask for a big sophistication. So for your "way too insecure" I think I will trust chip and pin any time of the day over signature.