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Credit Card Companies Will No Longer Require a Signature
Jessica Puckett
Contributor
April 13, 2018
•
2 min read
Credit Card Companies Will No Longer Require a Signature
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Starting Friday, some of the biggest credit card companies will no longer require a signature at store checkouts in the US.
The changes were announced several months ago by Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express, saying that no signature would be required beginning in early April 2018. Mastercard announced it would officially ditch the electronic signature starting Friday. American Express and Discover are also retiring the signature on Friday, with Visa expected to make the change later in April.
Even though the companies are nixing the signature, don't expect to see them disappear from your check-out process overnight. While the credit card companies won't require a signature, individual stores and chains get to decide whether they want your John Hancock. Bigger chains like Target and Walmart are planning to get rid of them by the end of April, while smaller chains might have more trouble replacing their sales systems that quickly.
Also, the signature requirement might pop up as you travel. While American Express is eliminating its signatures around the world, Visa is only axing its requirement for stores with pin-and-chip card systems in North America. Discover is going signature-free in the US, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, and Mastercard is only eliminating it in the US and Canada.
Advances in payment technology, like pin-and-chip readers and contactless payments (like Apple Pay), are some of the reasons behind the change. Companies are also using updated security techniques to stop fraud. Discover, for instance, uses digital authentication technologies such as tokenization, multi-factor authentication and biometrics, which it says are far more secure than an in-person signature.
H/T: Doctor of Credit
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Best for businesses with high spending
TPG Editor‘s Rating
Go to reviewCard Rating is based on the opinion of TPG‘s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
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Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
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- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month