4 ms·

>I haven't signed the back of one in about 20 years. I was made to sign the back of my cards by stores in the US over the last year. Now all my cards have sign

>I haven't signed the back of one in about 20 years. I was made to sign the back of my cards by stores in the US over the last year. Now all my cards have signatures.

GrinningFool 9y ago
I never sign mine (I'm in the US) and have only rarely had it checked . I can count on one hand the number of times I've been asked to provide ID when using an unsigned card, and I've never been refused a purchase due to missing signature.
- Broken_Hippo 9y ago
  It might have changed in the 4 years I've been away from the states, but there is a simple answer on Why you haven't had it checked: In general, customers rarely hand their cards over to a store clerk. The pharmacy I worked at had self-service machines. Customers signed the machine, and we never took the card. We were instructed not to do so unless the system prompted us to check. From what I could observe, there usually isn't reason to do so since the card companies only want proof if they are investigating a fraudulent purchase. I've personally had to go through paper signed slips (before a digital signature system) to prove the person signed. Otherwise, they just get stored for many years. And honestly, it is a pretty bad security feature as there is no way I can tell if the signatures correctly match the person. Most signatures are illegible anyway and become even more so when it is digital. My own signature looks different in the two mediums. And this ignores the fact that signatures vary or that I was dealing with possibly sick people, who sometimes had their family member sign their name for them (especially for prescriptions) - and all the other variation that can make things not match. The main exception to this rule is when folks purchased gift cards of different sorts. Even then, the signature wasn't a concern as we were making sure the card number was the same as the magnetic stripe.
  - GrinningFool 9y ago
    That's a good point re: not handling the card. While it sometimes does, self swipe at the register is much more common at the places I purchase. My wife has been asked to sign her card on the spot - but they didn't check her ID.

>I haven't signed the back of one in about 20 years. I was made to sign the back of my cards by stores in the US over the last year. Now all my cards have signatures.

GrinningFool 9y ago

I never sign mine (I'm in the US) and have only rarely had it checked . I can count on one hand the number of times I've been asked to provide ID when using an unsigned card, and I've never been refused a purchase due to missing signature.

Broken_Hippo 9y ago
It might have changed in the 4 years I've been away from the states, but there is a simple answer on Why you haven't had it checked: In general, customers rarely hand their cards over to a store clerk. The pharmacy I worked at had self-service machines. Customers signed the machine, and we never took the card. We were instructed not to do so unless the system prompted us to check. From what I could observe, there usually isn't reason to do so since the card companies only want proof if they are investigating a fraudulent purchase. I've personally had to go through paper signed slips (before a digital signature system) to prove the person signed. Otherwise, they just get stored for many years. And honestly, it is a pretty bad security feature as there is no way I can tell if the signatures correctly match the person. Most signatures are illegible anyway and become even more so when it is digital. My own signature looks different in the two mediums. And this ignores the fact that signatures vary or that I was dealing with possibly sick people, who sometimes had their family member sign their name for them (especially for prescriptions) - and all the other variation that can make things not match. The main exception to this rule is when folks purchased gift cards of different sorts. Even then, the signature wasn't a concern as we were making sure the card number was the same as the magnetic stripe.
- GrinningFool 9y ago
  That's a good point re: not handling the card. While it sometimes does, self swipe at the register is much more common at the places I purchase. My wife has been asked to sign her card on the spot - but they didn't check her ID.