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American Express, Mastercard and Discover to Eliminate Signature Requirement for Purchases in April 2018

Monday December 11, 2017 10:52 am PST by Juli Clover
American Express today announced plans to eliminate signature requirements when customers make credit or debit card purchases, joining both Mastercard and Discover.

All three companies plan to stop asking customers to provide a signature when making a purchase in the United States and Canada starting in April of 2018. The change is designed to allow for a more consistent, streamlined, and speedy checkout experience for both merchants and cardholders.

Credit and debit card companies have long required signatures for purchases as an added security measure, but with technology improvements that include contactless payments and the adoption of EMV chip technology, signatures are no longer a necessity.
"The payments landscape has evolved to the point where we can now eliminate this pain point for our merchants," said Jaromir Divilek, Executive Vice President, Global Network Business, American Express. "Our fraud capabilities have advanced so that signatures are no longer necessary to fight fraud. In addition, the majority of American Express transactions today already do not require a signature at the point of sale as a result of previous policy changes we made to help our merchants."
American Express has already phased out signature requirements for purchases under $50 in the United States, as have other credit card companies, and the complete elimination of the signature is a shift that consumers are likely to welcome.

Doing away with signature requirements for credit and debit card transactions will also streamline the Apple Pay process in the United States when using a Mastercard, Discover, or American Express card. With Apple Pay, a signature can on occasion be required for purchases over $50 in the United States, a step that may be eliminated once the card changes are introduced.

Apple Pay customers in other countries that have similar restrictions may also see them lifted when using American Express, but there are locations like Canada where contactless payments are not permitted for large purchases. In these situations, there will be no improvements to the Apple Pay process.

While Mastercard and Discover have said the change applies to the United States and Canada, American Express plans to eliminate signature requirements globally on purchase transactions of all amounts. Merchants are, however, still able to collect signatures if required to do so by an applicable law in a particular jurisdiction.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay
[ 144 comments ]

Top Rated Comments

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djcerla
24 months ago
Paying with Apple Pay on my AW, with no need to sign anything, is by far the best payment method ever.

And Apple at its best.
Rating: 15 Votes
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b13o0r12e3
24 months ago
The UK phased out the signature requirement yearssssssss ago!

Am I missing something here or is the US seriously Neanderthal?!
Rating: 14 Votes
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kdarling
24 months ago

The UK phased out the signature requirement yearssssssss ago!

Am I missing something here or is the US seriously Neanderthal?!


You're looking at it backwards.

The US treats its card users like Kings and Queens.

No need to remember a PIN. Our signature is good enough.

:D
Rating: 11 Votes
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bbeagle
24 months ago
The signature has meant nothing for years. It's rare for a merchant to check the signature anymore.
Rating: 10 Votes
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TheRealNick
24 months ago
Yes, the UK and other countries phased out compulsory use of the old signature and magnetic strip... I’d guess early 2000’s?

I can’t understand why other developed countries have taken so long.
Rating: 10 Votes
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joeyroo
24 months ago

The UK phased out the signature requirement yearssssssss ago!

Am I missing something here or is the US seriously Neanderthal?!


Based on the last year or so -- Yes we are.
Rating: 10 Votes
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zhang96
24 months ago
Biggest culture shock for Canadians is to go down south and sign on all receipts.
Rating: 4 Votes
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SeminalSage
24 months ago

who signs for apple pay now anyways?


I used ApplePay four times this past Saturday. The only time I didn’t have to sign was at the Apple Store. So, I guess the answer to your question is ME, at least.
Rating: 4 Votes
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iReality85
24 months ago

Biggest culture shock for Canadians is to go down south and sign on all receipts.


Biggest shock to us yankees is when we go up north and you all expect us to tip, even though you don't actually do so yourselves. ;)
Rating: 3 Votes
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theluggage
24 months ago

Based on the last year or so -- Yes we are.


I've visited the US about twice a year for the last 10 years ago... the last time, about a month ago, was the first time I've really started to encounter chip & pin in the US... although only at a couple of places, including one restaurant it was a case of hand card to server, wait, have server come back and ask for the "password", follow server over to counter, go behind counter, enter PIN in terminal and then sign the slip anyway.

However, I suspect you may have been alluding to other events of the last year or so, and I'm afraid that us Brits can't go chucking too many bricks in that particular greenhouse...

LOL welcome to 2017 to our US friends


I think you mean "welcome to 2006" when Chip & pin was rolled out in the UK and became the norm within a couple of years. Of course, the banks speeded up the process by making vendors liable for fraud committed via swipe & sign payments....

2017 in the UK is more like "contactless pay-by-tap for all transactions under £30 becomes widely available".
Rating: 3 Votes

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