Why are some merchants still asking for credit card signatures in these times?

[Bill Dufour]

I understood that as of about 3 years ago if a merchant had a chip reader card reader the card companies do not care if there is a signature or not. The chip card is more secure then a signature.
So why did Ace hardware want a signature on a germy screen with a germy stylus for a 25 dollar transaction? They had no hand sanitizer to sell by doing so.
After 9/11 the requirement for flying paper checks to a bank to be cashed was removed and scans became legal. Maybe the Corona virus will make merchants change their old ways again.
Bil lD

[Doug Dawson]

I understood that as of about 3 years ago if a merchant had a chip reader card reader the card companies do not care if there is a signature or not. The chip card is more secure then a signature.
So why did Ace hardware want a signature on a germy screen with a germy stylus for a 25 dollar transaction? They had no hand sanitizer to sell by doing so.
After 9/11 the requirement for flying paper checks to a bank to be cashed was removed and scans became legal. Maybe the Corona virus will make merchants change their old ways again.


This absolutely has to change. I was in a plumbers supply store yesterday buying some specialty items, and had to use one of those things. Everybody there seemed unconcerned albeit slightly cagey. But then, they _were_ plumbers...

I keep hand sanitizer in my pocket, peeking out like a curious pet rodent.

[Jim Becker]

Those that ask are required to do so by the particular card processor clearing house they are subscribed to. It's antiquated for sure...

I've been using contactless or ApplePay more and more, too, which eliminates anyone or anything actually touching my card.

[Kev Williams]

While your shopping at Ace grab a plastic nut & bolt bag and use it at the register as a glove.

[Frank Pratt]

I haven't signed for a credit card purchase in probably at least 10 years. For some reason, the US has been behind the rest of the world by several years in the adoption of pin & chip technology.

[Jim Becker]

Frank, the US banking system decided to not do pin and chip, preferring sign and chip for transactions over a certain amount. But some clearing houses require signatures even for small transactions which is probably what the OP ran into as I noted. I'm not really sure why the PIN was eschewed here, but the rumor at the time was that they felt folks wouldn't be able to remember a PIN...which makes less than zero sense given how many things each of us have to do utilizing a PIN or a password. Sheesh...

[glenn bradley]

While your shopping at Ace grab a plastic nut & bolt bag and use it at the register as a glove.


Stop being resourceful. We'll have nothing to complain about!

Its funny but, my parents always carried those single use plastic gloves in the car to pump gas or do other things involving frequent contact items in public places. I just picked up the habit when I started to drive. I'm no Adrian Monk but, touch screens(?), I started my I.T. career when Ethernet was still in the lab; keyboards, keypads, execute switches, oh my! This has been a health concern since way before touch screens became a public use item. Us old timers have been practicing "touch device" hygiene since way back. Those people you notice leaving the public restrooms without washing their hands are probably a fair share of the current positive statistics just as they have been in the past.

[John Terefenko]

How about when you do banking transactions in a bank. Have to sign that screen. How about when you pick up prescriptions in a drug store, have to sign that screen, how about when you have to sign for a package delivery and have to sign that screen with your finger. Had to do all these just this past week. No other way around it. Weather it is antiquated or not. This virus thing has given me the beebegeebees I am wiping off groceries and mail and packages. Listen to the cdc and this thing lives on surfaces. They are not sure how long and what materials. all new stuff man.

[Stan Calow]

I've been using ApplePay as much as I can lately, not out of fear of handling cash, but I have grudgingly accepted the utility of it. But at my Ace Hardware, even with ApplePay, I have to sign a credit slip for purchases over $100.

[Doug Garson]

Never could understand why a signature on a credit card purchase adds anything to security. If the thief has your card with the signature he has to match on it, and the store clerk has no real training in spotting fake signatures it's highly unlikely they would spot a forged signature. Many years ago when Canadian cards required signatures, a guy I worked with instead of signing his card wrote "check for ID" in the signature spot. He was amazed how many times the store clerk would look at the signature on the bill, flip the card over and appear to check the signature that wasn't on the back of the card and hand the card back as if he was confirming the signatures matched.

[roger wiegand]

Given that any squiggle passes as a signature on these devices one really wonders what the point is. For certain no one ever checks for a "match".

[Jim Becker]

The signature check is less important at this point because of most cards now being chipped. Most fraudulent card transactions are for online purchases where there's no capability (yet) to verify by the chip. The signature required for transactions over a certain amount is probably some kind of policy holdover around "I agree to pay..." from back in the day when cards were less favored than cash, but with card usage becoming more the norm, there is realization that the card issuer already has that assurance from the cardholder.

I will say that if anyone tends to shop at a place that requires signatures, either on paper or on the screen, simply carry your own pen with you and make it something that can also be used as a stylus on a screen. Many screen terminals have an integrated stylus, so if you're wearing gloves, use it.

[Aaron Rosenthal]

When I asked, as a Canadian, why I had to sign a credit card voucher in the USA years ago, I was told the merchant had to pay for the new chip reading machine and it was too expensive. I dunno.......

[Curt Harms]

When I asked, as a Canadian, why I had to sign a credit card voucher in the USA years ago, I was told the merchant had to pay for the new chip reading machine and it was too expensive. I dunno.......

I seem to remember that some time ago card readers had a security issue that couldn't be fixed with with a software upgrade. I remember seeing a lot of new terminals in stores and those terminals included the chip reader. Chip & pin is common in the U.S. these days.

[Myk Rian]

Put a stylus pen in your pocket and use that to sign.
No need to make things difficult.

[Brian Elfert]

I seem to remember that some time ago card readers had a security issue that couldn't be fixed with with a software upgrade. I remember seeing a lot of new terminals in stores and those terminals included the chip reader. Chip & pin is common in the U.S. these days.

Where have you ever used a credit card in the USA and had to enter your PIN to complete the transaction? Notice I said credit card, not debit card.

[Brian Elfert]

All of the major credit card companies removed the signature requirement in April 2018. There is no reason that any card processor or merchant should still require a signature almost two years later.

Menards required signatures for any size credit card transaction up until about nine months to a year ago. I believe they removed the requirement entirely now as I spent several hundred dollars multiple times recently with no signature required.

[Jim Becker]

Chip & pin is common in the U.S. these days.

For Debit cards, but not Credit cards. The latter will often have a PIN system if one wants to get cash advances at ATM machines, but I've never had a system yet ask for a PIN on a Credit transaction in any establishment. It's either insert(CHIP most common now) or swipe with some systems still requiring a signature.

[Jim Becker]

All of the major credit card companies removed the signature requirement in April 2018. There is no reason that any card processor or merchant should still require a signature almost two years later.

Menards required signatures for any size credit card transaction up until about nine months to a year ago. I believe they removed the requirement entirely now as I spent several hundred dollars multiple times recently with no signature required.

I suspect that the reason that some merchants are still requesting them is because they are using outdated equipment or have something setup incorrectly with their processor. Or is may be an odd-ball processor that hasn't updated things. Almost every time I've been asked for a signature, it's been at a small merchant or because of the nature of the transaction. (pharma, etc.)

[Mike Kreinhop]

All of the major credit card companies removed the signature requirement in April 2018. There is no reason that any card processor or merchant should still require a signature almost two years later.

I was in the U.S. earlier this year and in the UK last week. All purchases over $35 in the U.S. with my U.S. chip and pin credit card required a signature. All credit card purchases in the UK with the same card required a signature, regardless of purchase price. When I used my German chip and pin debit card in each country, no signatures were required.

[Eric Danstrom]

Other than restaurants, every merchant I go to uses a card reader that uses my chip card and no signature required. If the reader takes your chip card (not swiping) and requires you sign the pad the merchant hasn't upgraded. I haven't seen the old readers in a few years around here.