Question about signing the back of cards.

[Cmikul]

so, this has always been a source of conflicting information and I've always been completely lost as to why credit card companies have a signature plate on the back of cards.

I know the CCC's have always said sign your card immediately upon reciept and this has never made sense to me.

I never sign them.  I remember about 20yrs ago it would be a huge source of argument at vendors.  I would have vendors tell me the card was not valid without a signature and they would not accept it.

I would insist that I do not sign cards for the express intent that they should be asking me for my I.D. with my card and that will verify my likeness and my signature on the I.D. should match what I sign in front of them on the reciept.

I've always held the belief that if you sign it you just made it easy for someone to forge your signature since they now know just how it should look. 

I think this conflict is really a mute point in today's world as no one pays attention to any of it....what's on the card or what I sign.  I let my kids sign most of my receipts.

But I remember when I was younger you could fight a transaction with the CCC and show them that your signature was not accurate and they would dismiss it.

Anyway...any thoughts?

[hot4u]

Aloha,

I never sign my cards either.

You would be surprised 80-90% do not even look or ask for an ID.

[jsucool76]

I don't sign any of my cards, and it has nothing to do with me thinking someone could "forge my signature," my "signature" is basically just a scribble.

I'm just too lazy to sign all of them, and I don't see the purpose.

[NRB525]

I suspect it is related to an earlier time, when the language on the back of the card was an acknowledgement by the cardholder that this is a financial tool, and the cardholder agrees to use the tool within terms.

Imagine the first merchants looking at this paper or plastic card and being told "Yeah, believe me, this is real money. Honest".

In these transaction systems, things that have a legacy often continue with that same legacy.

[Bruincdc]

What i always put on the Sig line is "Ask for ID". That way it isnt blank and you would be amazed how many merchants still dont ask.

[Cmikul]

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@Bruincdc wrote:

What i always put on the Sig line is "Ask for ID". That way it isnt blank and you would be amazed how many merchants still dont ask.

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Yes, I remember people used to do that ....but not enough......I think I had one card like that and I kept having problems with merchants not accepting it because it wasn't signed so I had a new card issued.

Of course that was in the early 90's.....

[Anonymous]

I don't sign my cards anymore. I write in permanent black marker SEE ID which no one pays attention too. When I was a cashier, I always checked the signature on the back of the card. If there wasn't one, I asked for ID and made sure the name on the card and picture on the ID matched the person in front of me. I also used to look at the signatures. My signature never looks the same, but there is always some part of it that is every time I sign.

SN: This was before electronic signatures. LOL!

[Anonymous]

In order to finalize the cardmember agreement for that card, you have to sign it. If you sign your card and major fraud happens, the companies are happy to work it out if cards are signed. I've heard stories of MasterCard and Visa and banks making threats about leaving people out to dry and putting some sort of payment responsibility on them if the card isn't signed. I don't know if its ever actually happened.

I mean frankly, you legally have to sign the card to use it. Not doing so puts you at a much higher risk of a multitude of bad things than writing a poor signature in sharpie on the back.

So, I would recommend you do what is legally required of you to use the card and throw on your beautiful signature

[jsucool76]

Yeah but how does the bank know if your card is signed or not...If someone steals your card # and you call the bank and they say "is your card signed" just say yes...and sign it right there....


And if someone steals your physical card...the bank is never getting it back, they just cancel it.

[OmarGB9]

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