Can we also standardize the noise the machine makes when the transaction is a success? You know that sound "ENGHH ENGHH ENGHH" that is somehow a positive sound? It's like an alarm clock sound. Why is it not a positive "Ding!" And some will say well it's to remember your card. Well if that's the case, how about force the POS system not to print the receipt until the card is pulled? Or better yet, why does the card have to stay in the machine so long?
Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S
141–150 of 541 posts
Re: Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
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?
> ... chip in Unintentional pun. The US public seems to have a huge reluctance to use the chips in the cards too. It's swipe and sign. (I'm also from Australia and signing for a credit card purchase went away decades ago. PayWave is really popular, my 89 yo mother loves it.)
When I visited the US in late 2014, most places didn’t support contactless payments; a few did, but the operators didn’t necessarily know it, because basically no US cards supported it. I really confused a Subway employee near San Francisco by using it, and stopped to explain how it was that the transaction had gone through without him noticing.
Re: Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S
#143Also please make handing me a receipt extinct too or only if requested. Especially at drive thru(s) where the receipts become trash I later have to do work .. aka clean up this annoying trash in my car.
One should make a habit of checking receipts. It is truly amazing how many mistakes some businesses make.
Re: Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S
#144It 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…
Fun fact. You can theoretically write a USA legal bank check on the back side of a napkin and it will be honored. As you point out, it just needs the correct bank routing number and account number.
Then why is MICR positioning such a pain? (I work with software that automates the check printing process)
Checks have many safeguards against fraud. "Catch me if you can" exploits have protection.
Re: Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S
#145My apartment's leasing office accepts UPS/USPS/FedEx/etc. packages on my behalf when I'm not available. Whenever I go in to pick up a package, they ask me for both my ID and my signature on a tablet. Immediately after I tap the 'Confirm' button, I get an email with a PNG of the signature I just "signed". When I first moved into my apartment, I made some effort to give my regular signature. Nowadays, I just make a cou…
You think the mail room staff at your apartment are going to care about your signature, ever?
Re: Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S
#146It 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…
It amazes me that cheques are still used. I'm 36 and I've never issued a cheque, I think I was issued a cheque book with my first account but never used it.
They can be pretty handy. I don't have a physical checkbook and that causes problems for me once or twice a year. Typically when I am buying motorcycles. Those transactions tend to take place on weekends when my bank is closed and for amounts larger than my ATM cash withdrawal limit. They also tend to occur with parties that do not accept electronic payment methods.
Re: Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S
#147Heh. In 35 years Americans might finally stop writing checks, too.
Re: Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S
#148It 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…
It amazes me that cheques are still used. I'm 36 and I've never issued a cheque, I think I was issued a cheque book with my first account but never used it.
The American banking system is still basically at the level of the horse and buggy. Inter-bank transfers are next to impossible.
Here in Australia, I can just give out my bank account number freely -- the worst you can do to me with that information is send me money.
Re: Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S
#149> ShopKeep and Square, two popular small business payment systems, said they do not plan to immediately update their systems to allow retailers to skip signatures on all transactions. (Both currently allow merchants to disable them on transactions below $25.)
> “We’ll play it a little bit by ear,” said Michael DeSimone, ShopKeep’s chief executive. “Right now, I don’t think there’s a high level of awareness about this. Let’s get the changes in place and see how they work operationally, and then we’ll adapt.”
I can't imagine the hell of a place that must be to work when extending a feature which works at $25 to any sum — or no sum at all — is that hard. I can think of some really good reasons for it to be that difficult, but all of them sound like a terrible working environment.
Re: Credit Card Signatures Are About to Become Extinct in the U.S
#150What if I like doodling on all those iPad POS systems?