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

Posted by EditorDavid on from the everywhere-a-sign dept.

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."

4 of 171 comments (clear)

  1. Turn on your damn chip reader by L.+J.+Beauregard · · Score: 5, Insightful

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

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    1. Re:Turn on your damn chip reader by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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.

    2. Re: Turn on your damn chip reader by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

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

  2. PIN no need for chip by markdavis · · Score: 5, Insightful

    >"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.