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I still don’t understand why we bother with signature at all though. Nobody checks it. Why not just “chip” if “chip+pin” doesn’t add anything?
by zwily 9y ago
I still don’t understand why we bother with signature at all though. Nobody checks it. Why not just “chip” if “chip+pin” doesn’t add anything?
- ejo4041 9y agoI was under the impression this was used in case of a dispute, they could go back to the receipt to determine if it was your signature or not. Not sure how often that is actually used. Apparently a lot of cards are dropping the requirement anyway. [1] [1] - https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/signatures-soon-may-not-be-required.php https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/signatures-soon...
- leesalminen 9y agoThat’s correct. This new policy from the card brands begins this month for EMV transactions. My customers are excited to reduce check out time by dropping the signature requirement.
- reaperducer 9y agoThe signature signifies intent. You understand the charges on the receipt. You can't say "I didn't know I bought that" when the list of things you bought is right there and you signed your name.
- amaccuish 9y agoYou paying signifies intent. If I use Google Pay to pay for something, I've shown that I agree with the charge. The signature is just useless hassle. I've had to do it it twice in my life and they never seemed to be pens around just when you need them...
- reaperducer 9y agoLawyers disagree. Moreover, if you think that retailers are making you sign a piece of paper because they want to hassle you and make you take your money elsewhere, you need to rethink the situation.
- im3w1l 9y agoCargo cult and security theather both sound plausible. Although falsifying a signature might carry a stiffer penalty than just using a stolen card?
- sgc 9y agoYou are signing a contract to pay. It's clearer than just vaguely signifying intent.
- amaccuish 9y agoSignature has never been intent but a security measure, which is why it is matched with the signature on the card. It's an authorisation step, nothing else. You handing over the card is intent.
- zwily 9y agoExcept you can literally draw a poop emoji as the signature and it’ll be happily accepted. How would that signify intent at a later dispute investigation?
- reaperducer 9y agoYou are correct. But it still signifies intent. Just like illiterate people use an "X" for their signature, even if their name isn't X.
- beezle 9y agoI use X every time and only once was I stopped (Home Despot).
- aioprisan 9y agoX is a legal signature, they can't choose to not accept it.
- hueving 9y agoThey can refuse your transaction for whatever reason they want, it's their business. If you give off any vibe that the card might be stolen, then a business can turn you down whether or not what you were doing was technically correct.
- reaperducer 9y ago>I use X every time and only once was I stopped (Home Despot). Just like sometimes you get a clerk who won't take a $2 bill. Nothing will ever trump human ignorance.
- celticninja 9y agoNo it doesn't signify intent. The signature on the slip should match the signature on the back of the card. This is how the retailer knows the purchaser is the authorised user of the card. So unless the card as a poop emoji in it the card holder can deny the transaction based on non-matching signatures.
- jessaustin 9y agoYeah if you sign a printed receipt that's true. Most POS devices I see now aren't displaying the individual charges anymore by the time the interface gets to the "really charge $X?" screen and the electronic signature screen. You have to wait until the receipt prints out, and then you can complain to the clerk.
- reaperducer 9y agoThe screen-signature POS terminals I've seen almost always have another screen showing a list of purchases being made. The only exception I can remember is very old pharmacies. In newer pharmacies, the list is on the signature screen.
- ghaff 9y agoMy pharmacy does. But I'm not sure I've ever seen it in a grocery store and it seems rare just about anywhere else.
- reaperducer 9y agoInteresting. Everywhere I've been recently (mostly west coast, I'll admit), the grocery stories have the biggest tally screens. And at the bottom the biggest line is how much you "saved" by shopping there. (Yeah, right.)