These days youโre more likely to see someone pull out their credit or debit card than cash when making a purchase, which can certainly slow down a checkout line, but that process may start going a little quicker now, thanks to a new move by credit cards.
Beginning April 14th, major credit cards Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Discover will no longer require customers to sign receipts for purchases used with credit and debit cards. While some stores already allow you to forgo the signature, especially for purchases under a certain amount of money, this is the first time card companies are collectively saying they no longer need your John Hancock, although some will require an EMV chip be on a card in order to allow a signature-less purchase.
According to Mastercard, which was the first major credit card to end the signature requirement, their research shows people believe the payment process and checkout lines will move along quicker without the signature, which is what both merchants and consumers want.
- Now if youโre worried about security, companies say you shouldnโt be. The encryption inside the EMV chip on most cards, along with other measures, make buying with a credit card a lot safer these days.
Source: USA Today