Visa finally gets on board with optional credit card signatures
As more and more credit card companies announced an end to the need for signatures on credit and debit card receipts, major player Visa kept holding out. Until today.
Finally, Visa announced Friday it was making signatures "optional" in North America starting in April.
Visa's move, which keeps signing an option for now, is a little different to MasterCard, Discover, and American Express who are straight-up eliminating the need for something on the dotted line. But it's essentially dumping signatures unless retailers decide they still want one.
The reasoning behind the change is the same for all the companies: better security. A signature pales in comparison to biometrics and chip technology to keep cards secure. It's just not doing much anymore to protect your identity and financial info.
As Visa also pointed out, taking out the need to sign makes purchases quicker.
With Visa's announcement it feels safe to say signing for purchases will soon be a forgotten experience looked back fondly with a nostalgic nod, like when you see a payphone.
Topics Cybersecurity
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
