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Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S

nytimes.com

11–20 of 541 posts

Re: Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S

#12
post #5

From experience, a signature in the checkout line usually takes about 5-10 seconds. Removing it may seem like a small negligible change for users, but for retailers, it most likely adds up. Imagine being able to pick up your receipt and leave. What I see being the stalwart of signatures are probably restaurants. They require that extra step with the tip.

The way tipping works in Canada: you get handed the card-reader, and it tells you the subtotal and asks what tip you would like to add. Then, the card-reader asks you to either tap or insert your card.

Re: Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S

#13
post #8

Signatures haven't been required for credit cards in many other countries for quite some time now. I have often wondered why the US has historically lagged behind for everyday banking. (e.g. email money transfers, chip enabled cards, pin number verification, tap to pay)

because legacy tech wants to be amortised over long time periods. If you start implementing things later you can pick the best tech. US banking was among the first to become digital and thus still has to maintain technical choices of the past

Re: Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S

#14
post #5

From experience, a signature in the checkout line usually takes about 5-10 seconds. Removing it may seem like a small negligible change for users, but for retailers, it most likely adds up. Imagine being able to pick up your receipt and leave. What I see being the stalwart of signatures are probably restaurants. They require that extra step with the tip.

> From experience, a signature in the checkout line usually takes about 5-10 seconds. Removing it may seem like a small negligible change for users, but for retailers, it most likely adds up.

Your right, can we also remove that stupid bag tax in SF. It easily takes 20 - 30 seconds per transaction.

"Do you want a bag?"

"Ugh, yeah I do"

"Alright that's 50 cents"

"wait, could I get three bags, not two - I don't want my bag to rip"

"Sure, we can do that, 75 cents"

Every. single. time.

Re: Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S

#15
post #9
post #4

It would be nice if they would start requiring a PIN.

The kind of fraud prevented by a PIN enabled chip card is supposedly pretty rare. What would be more useful is a standard for browser attached chip card readers to bring the anti-fraud protections of a chip card to everyday Internet transactions.

If a PIN were required for credit transactions I bet fraud from cloned / stolen cards would drop to about zero.

Re: Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S

#16
post #9
post #4

It would be nice if they would start requiring a PIN.

The kind of fraud prevented by a PIN enabled chip card is supposedly pretty rare. What would be more useful is a standard for browser attached chip card readers to bring the anti-fraud protections of a chip card to everyday Internet transactions.

This seems like something Square should be easily able to enable.

Re: Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S

#17
It turns out that a signature on a bank check means nothing. Neither does the payer name on the check. Not the amount in cursive. Nor does the check paper.

The only things that are checked are the digits of the amount, and the account number.

The rest of the check can be complete garbage, and the check will go through and the bank will pay it. Then the banks will blame you, the account holder.

I learned this the hard way.

Re: Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S

#18
post #3

Now if we could only eliminate them for everything else. Buying and selling houses is excruciating thanks to the number of signatures required. I went to a closing on behalf of my then-wife who didn’t want to deal with it; because it was her house we were selling, I had to sign all the paperwork on her behalf, which involved a signature plus some additional verbiage. My hand was in pain by the time we were finished.

Most of the time a signature isn’t for verification but rather for acknowledgment. I don’t give two shits what you put down as a signature, I just want a record that you consciously were present and signed something, so I don’t get accused of trying to pass off something quietly that you never agreed to. If I have some scribble you made at a time and place, the onus is on you to prove it wasn’t you who did that.

Actually, it's the other way around. The credit card company, and by extension the merchant, have to prove that's your scribble.

Here's one way to think about it. If it was the way you suggest then all an identity theif would have to do is to draw something on the dotted line and all of a sudden you're in a position where you have to prove your innocence.

Re: Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S

#19
post #8

Signatures haven't been required for credit cards in many other countries for quite some time now. I have often wondered why the US has historically lagged behind for everyday banking. (e.g. email money transfers, chip enabled cards, pin number verification, tap to pay)

It's especially a mystery because even developments in payments from the US (eg Apple Pay) seem more widely adopted where I am (Aus) than in the US.

Anyone with some insight as to why want to chip in?

Re: Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S

#20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of the time a signature isn’t for verification but rather for acknowledgment. I don’t give two shits what you put down as a signature, I just want a record that you consciously were present and signed something, so I don’t get accused of trying to pass off something quietly that you never agreed to. If I have some scribble you made at a time and place, the onus is on you to prove it wasn’t you who did that.

Provide an index sheet attached to a stack of papers acknowledging documents included (title, version, date on document, page count). Check by each line, one signature overall.

Nope, too easy to argue you signed a bunch of things you did not see. I want each page initialed and important disclaimers signed at the location they appear. Will make it much easier for me in court. Much harder for you.
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