The incentive for the merchant to collect signatures is fighting chargebacks. If there is a disputed transaction and the merchant cannot retrieve a receipt the

The incentive for the merchant to collect signatures is fighting chargebacks. If there is a disputed transaction and the merchant cannot retrieve a receipt the customer automatically wins regardless of almost any other fact(s). But on purchases of less than $50 it was decided by the market that skipping the signature saved more money in faster checkouts than it saved in dispute resolution. The EMV standard includes a purchase total verification step where the customer is shown the number and must press OK to confirm. But again speed has been considered more important. That OK? prompt is going away and Quick Chip will first authorize a dummy amount and send the real amount after the transaction is totaled up. It's not like USA market was using PINs for two factor authentication anyway. Restaurants are allowed to adjust purchase totals for tips and closing out tabs.