It is being increasing observed that credit card networks are accepting one important thing. And that is more and more of them have started believing that just by using signatures, you cannot assess the true identity of a credit card holder.
Doing away with signature verification
Towards the end of April 2018, it is being anticipated that 4 major stalwarts, namely, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover are planning to stop using signatures for carrying out transactions with the help of plastic cards.
Verifying by means of signatures have become age old habits and are not considered to be crucial for finding the identity of a cardholder. In the days to come, whenever these signatures become obsolete, authentications by handwritten statements will be carried out only for certain conditions that include buying a home.
The change will not be immediate
However, the practice of making signatures non entity in nature for verification will not be executed or implemented just overnight. It is the personal choice of majority of the retailers to decide what they intend to do, whether they want to carry on with the signatures or prefer to forego the practice of signature verification.
There are few major retail giants like Walmart that consider signature verification as unnecessary. However, Mastercard is still in the phase and waiting for the plastic cards to get embedded with computer chips.
Advantages of using computer chips in cards
There are many credit card companies that implemented computer chips long time ago. And these were the card companies that compensate for the cost of fraudulent plastic card spending. How do these chips help? Europe and Asia are the two main continents that popularized the use of these chips first.
The main benefit of using these chips is that unique codes are created for every transaction that is carried out, which renders them unique and difficult to be copied. In the United States of America, the concept took off just 3 years ago. Until then, in the US the concept of card swiping technology was prevalent.
These days you can easily ay your hands on plastic cards of your choice. And prior to signing up for one, you can go through the feedback from portals like Credit Karma Review – AAACreditGuide.
A peek into the past
In the yesteryears, it took a lot of time to switch over from hand written notes. The so called charge card’s origin can be traced back to the 1920s. During that period, “embossed metal plates” were used that allowed customers to keep tab of their purchases and it was equipped with paper signature strips.
Little did people know that after a period of 30 years, the same concept would evolve but in form of cards. Over the years, signatures have held a pace of prime importance only to give way to these computer chip enabled cards that can not only prevent fraudulent activities but easier to use and makes sure that don’t get ripped off, regardless of whether you use them in the country or outside.
