Are Credit Card Signatures still Required?
Excerpted from money.cnn.com
As of April 2018, signatures are no longer required by major credit card companies. As Matt Schulz from Credit Cards.com explains “Signatures are no longer considered to be any real deterrent to fraud”, “Most people don’t sign their name in full or take it all that seriously”
The signature requirement has already been going to the wayside, especially for smaller purchases. For example, American Express has not required a signature for transactions under $50 in the US since 2012. More than 80% of Mastercard in-store transactions already did not require a signature Mastercard said in 2017, but many businesses, mostly restaurants, and rental car companies still do.
Schulz says that he expects many merchants to leave the signature requirement in place as “The requirement is built into the credit card terminal, they would need to take steps to eliminate it.”
Credit Card companies have been enhancing card security to help reduce fraud, as you know most card companies have been replacing expired cards or sending new cards that take advantage of the EMV chip capabilities, which is considered more secure than the traditional magnetic stripe.
Schulz expects PIN codes and biometrics to become more common but stresses that you should still do your best to protect your identity. He says “ You are your own best last line of defense on identity theft. It is important you take the time to check your online bank and credit card statements. People need to build regular identity theft checks into their financial routine.
-Bryan