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

nytimes.com

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

#211

Post by NamTaf »

kondro wrote: post #54
u801e wrote: post #4

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

In Australia, all in-person card transactions above the $100 PayWave/PayPass limit require PINs. Fraud cause from in-person transactions is very low and hence our merchant fees are also very low. 10-20¢ for debit transactions and approx. 1.2% for credit transactions.

If even that. You're usually hard-pressed to find people who charge a transaction fee (that is, not built into the price of the goods/service). I can think of a handful I encounter with any level of semi-regularity.

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

#212

Post by NamTaf »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #60
amanzi wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here in NZ we don't sign for credit card transactions - I can't remember the last time I had to sign. Instead you insert your card into the reader and use your PIN to verify the transaction. And if the card reader has contactless payments (PayWave, PayPass, etc) then you don't even need your PIN for transactions less than $80.

Are you sure those are credit card (e.g. Master Card) and not debit (e.g. Maestro) transactions? I’ve noticed outside the USA credit cards are used very rarely while debit cards are used very heavily. In the USA, we have to sign at most places for any transaction over $50, but not under.

Yes. My AU credit cards - both Amex and a local bank-issued one via Citibank(?) - allow me to change my PIN through my online account settings. I use my credit card exactly as I use my debit card - tap for paypass/paywave if under AUD$100, or tap/insert and enter a PIN for over $100.

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

#213

Post by rokhayakebe »

koolba wrote: post #69
dperfect wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The only things that are checked are the digits of the amount, and the account number. Well, the payee is also usually verified to match the destination account, and a few other elements are technically required for it to be a legal financial instrument (even if banks don't spend the time to check them every time). Legally, a check could be written on the back of a napkin and still be valid - as long as it has a fe…

> It inherently relies on the legal system to sort things out after the fact, ... This is why it’s critical to have transaction alerts for all activity for your financial accounts. Otherwise you could have an ACH slip through that drains your account. You wouldn’t notice till the next time you logged in or, more likely, when you try to use your debit card and realize it’s cleaned out.

that drains your account.

This is barely dangerous imo. Inconvenient perhaps but not dangerous. The reason being your bank will refund the money.

The dangerous ones are those that take tiny amounts monthly that you just won't notice.

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

#214

Post by rokhayakebe »

toephu2 wrote: post #180
combatentropy wrote: post #173

"Mikiah Westbrooks, the owner of Brix, a wine bar in Detroit, said she worried that skipping signatures will affect her workers' tips." May tips disappear next.

Yes can we please get rid of tipping and pay waiters and staff what they should be earning? Build the price into the menu and let the market decide the price. Too expensive? You will lose customers. Too cheap? You will have lines out the door and you know you can increase prices. The rest of the world does not tip (Europe & Asia). Only in North America is this awkward tipping practice still a thing.

Personally I like tipping. I think people should still be paid well, but let me tip on top of it if I wish.

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

#216

Post by gambiting »

sitepodmatt wrote: post #184
toephu2 wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes can we please get rid of tipping and pay waiters and staff what they should be earning? Build the price into the menu and let the market decide the price. Too expensive? You will lose customers. Too cheap? You will have lines out the door and you know you can increase prices. The rest of the world does not tip (Europe & Asia). Only in North America is this awkward tipping practice still a thing.

Tipping still happens in Europe and SE Asia it's just not silly like North America. In the UK we'd leave a few pounds typically, let's say table bill was 47gbp, you have be a shameless mingebag to collect the 3gbp change if you were happy with the meal and service. But we don't subscribe to the non sense of 10% tip if unhappy, 15-20% if happy, if crap you don't leave a tip or pay service charge.

Most importantly, you don't have to tip in the UK. It's appreciated but literally no one minds if you don't.

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

#217

Post by ascorbic »

gregpilling wrote: post #128
spacehome wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Landlords only want cashier's checks if they don't trust you. If they don't trust you, they're less likely to rent to you. So requiring cashier's checks is uncommon, barring some extenuating circumstance like you've previously written a bad check or been late.

As a landlord, I always request cash or cashiers check for move in money. I don't want you living there for 3 months for free while I fight your bad check through the court system to get you evicted. It may sound shocking, but some people will do this. Source: me, landlord since 2001.

Why not a bank transfer?

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

#218

Post by gambiting »

paul7986 wrote: post #11

Also 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.

As a business owner - nope, handing receipts should be mandatory by law with heavy fines for not doing so(as it is where I'm from - Poland). I've had so many employees stealing by just not registering the order and pocketing the money - but fortunately, the law that requires that a receipt is produced fixed most of that.

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

#219

Post by [deleted] »

rav wrote: post #206
gst wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most European cards use Chip & PIN with pin preference: If the terminal supports it the card will ask for a chip instead of a signature. Chip-based signature transactions are only used as fallback if the terminal doesn't support pins (which is very uncommon). Unfortunately most US cards don't use a pin code at all. There are a few issuers that provide you with a pin code, but even in those cases there's typically a s…

> Those cards work great in Europe, but are sometimes a pain to use in the US. E.g., if you're paying at a restaurant and you have to go with the waiter to the terminal in some backroom, because the terminal asks for the pin. Huh? I have a European card (chip & PIN, PIN preference), and at restaurants in the US I've always signed and never had to go to the terminal in some backroom.

[deleted]

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

#220

Post by Digital-Citizen »

sleet wrote: post #42
skookumchuck wrote: post #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…

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.

Some banks allow customers to send cheques/checks printed by the bank, even on a schedule. This makes it easy for the bank customer to routinely pay predictable bills or send someone money on a schedule without having to go through the hassle of setting up direct deposit to their bank account (which is needlessly difficult even transferring money across two customers of the same bank, or across two banks in the same country). But the paper sent is far too revealing. The amount of information printed is remarkably high in order to do something that should be considered routine by now. And cashing or depositing still requires physically depositing paper somewhere like a bank teller's station or some ATMs. Remarkably few places will accept a picture and conduct the transaction from information gleaned from the picture.
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