Paying by credit card and signing that electronic gizmo. (1 Viewer)

[Kenneth Harden]

Ummmm, oh please... (roll eyes)

I work in retail and NOBODY will ever care what you put on there.

If you want to do some loopy doops, knock yourself out. A line? Sure! Thank you and have a great day. How about some waves like you are drawing the ocean when you are 7. Enjoy your purchase! From experience, most people just scribble on it.

I am sure this is a legal thing and nothing more. There physically isn't the resolution to even determin if the signature is real or not.

Jeez, do you wear a tinfoil hat to bed, too?

 

[Andy_G]

Andrew,

Most credit and debit cards on this side of the Atlantic still don't have a "chip."

The arguements against adopting "chip and pin" over hear mirror the ones used against adopting the Metric system. (e.g. it would cost too much and cause vast consumer confusion. Also, keep in mind that with a pin code, it becomes more difficult to "write in" a tip to be charged later)

Bottom line: U.S. card issuers MAY begin to implement smart chips with pin codes starting in 2007; until then, most people will continue to sign at the X.

As an aside, the first "chip and pin" system was implemented in France in the early 90s. . .

-Andy

 

[Philip_G]

interesting, might make it difficult for me to use my visa in the UK next time I go

 

[Andy_G]

Actually, in theory you should be able to sign in the UK as you would at home. The processing networks have made provision for "legacy" users (which, before long, will be North American users).

As anyone who has used a credit card in France recently can tell you, the sales person may fumble with your card a bit, but will find a way to make it work (French attitudes toward customer service notwithstanding).

 

[Philip_G]

no problem, I'll avoid france

Card worked perfectly in germany and the UK though. No bank fees either!

 

[Chris Bardon]

So European merchants actually use the PIN pad for credit purchases (as well as debit)? I'm impressed. Here in Canada, debit is everywhere, so the hardware is in place, but the CC companies haven't made the move yet to PIN credit-mostly because they don't feel that it's worth the hassle. Basically, at this point it would require everyone with a card to be issued a PIN, since 95% have no idea what their CC PIN is, or that it HAS a PIN (since the only thing it's really used for is ATM cash advances).

Are the chips you're taking about actually being used though, or are they still using the magnetic strip on the back? The chips were designed for "smart card" apps (Mondex), and there were a lot of hybrid readers deployed, but I don't think anyone over here is making use of them.

 

[Andy_G]

Chip and Pin UK

All of your questions about the new european system answered.

 

[Herschel]

That seems like it's opening up the merchants to disputed charges. "You don't have my signature, so you don't have the right to charge my credit card for that." It's not a new risk of the electronic signature devices, but I would think they'd be worried about that...

 

[Chris Bardon]

Yup, that's about right. The fact is though, most people don't try to dispute charges, since it's, you know, fraud. Yes, there are people who scam the system, but they are actually far fewer in numbers that you might think. Basically, the cost to deal with the fraud is less than the cost to move to a PIN based system (both in hardware and customer service).

On a side note, I wonder how many people actually use "1234" as their PIN. I saw a guy punch this one in the other day (since he made no effort to hide it), and it struck me as a pretty bad idea. Actually, I'd guess that 1234, 9876, 2580, and the last 4 digits of the card number are probably the most common PINs out there.