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I never sign the back of any of my cards. Once in a while, I will meet some cashiers who try to have me sign it.
"See ID" or the other more clever, "CID" is not valid.
Merchants are required to follow the same procedures as if signature is not present.
And also:
"...merchants cannot as part of their regular card acceptance procedures refuse to complete a purchase transaction because a cardholder refuses to provide ID."
So... sign your cards, people.
And don't throw a fit when merchants refuse your silly little "See ID" thing;
They're required and ought to refuse the transaction until the card is signed properly.
Source: http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/card-acceptance-guidelines-for-visa-merchants.pdf
@Shogun wrote:Yes, it does say that if the card is "NOT" signed, then they must ask for identification. But this is the rest of the process according to the Mastercard Merchant agreement.
804.2.1 Unsigned Cards
If a card is presented to a Merchant and is not signed, the merchant must:
1. Obtain an authorization from the issuer,
2. Ask the Cardholder to provide identification (but not record the Carholder Identification Information) and,
3. Require the Cardholder to sign the card.
The Merchant must NOT complete the transaction if the cardholder refuses to sign the card.
To me, this is pretty cut and dry as to why people sign the back of their cards.
In total agreement!
AND...contrary to what was stated before about "most people don't sign"...I think that's incorrect, for the very reason above. The vast majority of Americans, who don't frequent message boards and forums about credit, follow the T&C of their credit cards, and sign the cards. It's like any other law or rule that affects MOST Americans. MOST of us abide by the rule/regulation/law.
From Visa's Merchant Agreement.
While checking card security features, you should also make sure that the card
is signed . An unsigned card is considered invalid and should not be accepted . If
a customer gives you an unsigned card, the following steps must be taken:
• Check the cardholder’s ID . Ask the cardholder for some form of official
government identification, such as a driver’s license or passport . Where
permissible by law, the ID serial number and expiration date should be
written on the sales receipt before you complete the transaction
.
• Ask the customer to sign the card . The card should be signed within your full
view, and the signature checked against the customer’s signature on the ID .
A refusal to sign means the card is still invalid and cannot be accepted . Ask
the customer for another signed Visa card .
• Compare the signature on the card to the signature on the ID .
The words “Not Valid Without Signature” appear above, below, or beside the signature panel on
all Visa cards
.
“See ID” Some customers write “See ID” or “Ask for ID” in the signature panel, thinking
that this is a deterrent against fraud or forgery; that is, if their signature is not on
the card, a fraudster will not be able to forge it . In reality, criminals often don’t
take the time to practice signatures . They use cards as quickly as possible after a
theft and prior to the accounts being blocked . They are actually counting on you
not to look at the back of the card and compare signatures; they may even have
access to counterfeit identification with a signature in their own handwriting .
In this situation, follow recommended steps listed above under Unsigned Cards
Again from Visa Merchant Agreement
When should you ask a cardholder for an official government ID? Although Visa
rules do not preclude merchants from asking for cardholder ID except in the
specific circumstances discussed in this guide, merchants cannot make an ID
a condition of acceptance . Therefore, merchants cannot as part of their regular
card acceptance procedures refuse to complete a purchase transaction because
a cardholder refuses to provide ID . It is important that merchants understand
that the requesting of a cardholder ID does not change the merchant’s liability
for chargebacks . However, it can slow down a sale and annoy the customer . In
some cases, it may even deter the use of the Visa card and result in the loss of
a potential sale . Visa believes merchants should not ask for ID as part of their
regular card acceptance procedures . Laws in several countries also make it
illegal for merchants to write a cardholder’s personal information, such as an
address or phone number, on a sales receipt .
If you are suspicious about the transaction or feel you need additional
information to ensure the identity of the cardholder, make a Code 10 call
The signature is the most important thing. The same way as when you are at the closing table buying real estate property for example. You may present your ID and that is fine but if you don't sign that contract you are not going to close on that deal.
So again, I don't understand why it's so hard to sign the card and abide by the agreement ?
If the merchant goes by the correct process of accepting cards. Then they will refuse it if not signed.
Personally I'm surprised they even bother with signatures anymore. No one ever checks them and instead ask for ID which is a violation of their merchant agreement.
In fact I recently got multiple notifications from my Australian bank that signatures are being phased out and very soon all Australian credit cards will be chip and PIN only (following most European countries who have been this way for a while).
As always the US will lag behind but signatures haven't been relevant for quite a while. My CSP is chip and signature with no PIN functionality coming any time soon which is a shame.
@k84 wrote:Personally I'm surprised they even bother with signatures anymore. No one ever checks them and instead ask for ID which is a violation of their merchant agreement.
In fact I recently got multiple notifications from my Australian bank that signatures are being phased out and very soon all Australian credit cards will be chip and PIN only (following most European countries who have been this way for a while).
As always the US will lag behind but signatures haven't been relevant for quite a while. My CSP is chip and signature with no PIN functionality coming any time soon which is a shame.
Yes. As you stated, since there is diversity in the the way merchants handle this entire scenario (sign/don't sign), the relevency of a signature is in question. However, as Shogun pointed out, it's the agreement that we, the consumers sign by acceptance and use of the card, and the agreement between the card issuer and the merchant. And until this changes in some way, then to NOT sign is violating the T&C.
The truly effective way for the USA to NOT lag behind, is for consumers across the board, requesting...even demanding...that their card issuer go to an exclusive Chip and Pin system. The card issuers and banks can't say "it can't be done", when the rest of the world not only does it, but does it well. If we as consumers, start to contact our card issuers with requests for Chip & Pin, and we continue to do so on a consistent basis, my guess is that, one of the major players will take the ball and run with it, and start issuing Chip & Pin cards de riguer. My other guess would be that AMEX or Discover would be the likely candidates to lead the charge on this. A dream, I know!
Chip and Pin would make the whole sign/don't sign discussion moot !