# Should You Sign Your Credit Card? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 29, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385 "2016-11-29T16:35:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/21 "2016-11-29T20:55:41Z")
1. You have to sign it. Their card, their rules. 2. Any well run business will refuse to accept an card that isn’t signed. That there are so many clueless cashiers that might accept it says something about their mental state, nothing more. This is not a debatable matter. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/22 "2016-11-29T21:01:10Z")
It’s been many years since any clerk has touched my cc. Every store and restaurant I visit has a customer card scanner. The card never leaves my hand. I have two cc’s and never signed either. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/23 "2016-11-29T21:11:06Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I don’t see how this can be true, or online shopping wouldn’t exist. The vast majority of “merchants” I deal with are computer programs who don’t even have eyes, nor the skills to distinguish my signature from hieroglyphics, let alone another person’s signature or a fraudulent version of my own. > > And frankly, how is a teenage cashier supposed to distinguish between my signature and someone’s forgery? Even “expert” witnesses on handwriting are mostly just good bullshitters who get lucky sometimes. When I shop online, completing the transaction requires I also provide specific numbers found only the card. I take that to mean I must be in actual possession of the card to do that (two-factor authentication) and not just use CC numbers someone gave to me. It must be in the CC contract that allow for this in online transactions, while a signature is required for human transactions. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/24 "2016-11-29T21:19:04Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > While that sounds reasonable, it conflicts with what you told us in post #6:So I wonder if the card companies have guidelines that cover this specific situation, and if not I wonder what consequences the merchant would realistically face for refusing the transaction. In reading one of the CC contracts, if you hand a merchant an unsigned card, they are supposed to refuse the transaction. If you then sign the card and hand it back to the merchant, the merchant can demand a government ID to verify it is you who actually signed the card. So what it boils down to is if you present an apparently valid credit card (signed) the merchant cannot refuse the transaction if you refuse to show ID, but if you present an invalid credit card (unsigned), then sign it, the merchant can require an ID to verify the validity of you and your signature. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/25 "2016-11-29T22:28:42Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > In reading one of the CC contracts, if you hand a merchant an unsigned card, they are supposed to refuse the transaction. If you then sign the card and hand it back to the merchant, the merchant can demand a government ID to verify it is you who actually signed the card. > > So what it boils down to is if you present an apparently valid credit card (signed) the merchant cannot refuse the transaction if you refuse to show ID, but if you present an invalid credit card (unsigned), then sign it, the merchant can require an ID to verify the validity of you and your signature. Thanks for clearing that up. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/26 "2016-11-29T22:44:57Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > It’s been many years since any clerk has touched my cc. > > Every store and restaurant I visit has a customer card scanner. The card never leaves my hand. > > I have two cc’s and never signed either. You must only eat fast food then. The vast majority or restaurants I go to present a check, which requires me to return it with my card, whereupon they run it, and return it to me to have the receipt signed. As for not signing - what’s the reasoning behind this? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/27 "2016-11-29T22:54:56Z")
Some restaurants bring the credit card scanner to the table. That can be useful when the customer is paying with a debit card and needs to enter a PIN. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/28 "2016-11-30T00:04:03Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > 1. Any well run business will refuse to accept an card that isn’t signed. That there are so many clueless cashiers that might accept it says something about their mental state, nothing more. Apparently I only frequent poorly run businesses (that does sound like me). Of the six credit and debit cards I just checked in my wallet, none of them were signed (remedied). I’ve been using them for years without ever once being asked about the signature missing, much less forced to add one. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/29 "2016-11-30T02:28:41Z")
I’ve had too many places refuse an unsigned card to bother not doing it. ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/30 "2016-11-30T02:48:29Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > I’ve had too many places refuse an unsigned card to bother not doing it. I can’t remember the last time anyone asked for my credit card. I swipe it myself or, now, just insert it into the chip slot. Even before that, I don’t remember being asked to sign or compare the signature to my ID. Bob ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/31 "2016-11-30T03:03:00Z")
Interesting in Australia now, they no longer accept a signature. It’s PIN code only or pay-wave for transactions less than $100 if you have a card that does it. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/32 "2016-11-30T04:34:15Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > When I shop online, completing the transaction requires I also provide specific numbers found only the card. I take that to mean I must be in actual possession of the card to do that (two-factor authentication) and not just use CC numbers someone gave to me. Why can’t someone give you all the numbers on the card and have you do the transaction without having possession of the card? How is that functionally different from you reading the numbers directly off the card? ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/33 "2016-11-30T06:35:24Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > 1. You have to sign it. Their card, their rules. > > 2. Any well run business will refuse to accept an card that isn’t signed. That there are so many clueless cashiers that might accept it says something about their mental state, nothing more. > > This is not a debatable matter. Have you ever even used a huge retail establishment that literally has thousands of credit card transactions a day? And that’s just in my small town. I can’t imagine the magnitude in a large, metropolitan city. So, what you’re saying is absurd due to the logistics alone, but as others have said, most of us mentally stable cashiers never even touch your cards. You do all that yourself and we’d be out on our ears by management if we slowed down a busy holiday season to check every signature (and then decline many), not to mention piss lots and lots of people off. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/34 "2016-11-30T13:16:34Z")
Wait, wait, wait. Hold on a second here. Let’s think for one second. One argument for _not_ signing your card is because it’s common for some people to not have a clerk look at their card. So a _not_ signed card is good for those situations where no one looks at it??? I’m, I’m … what? The “logic” of this isn’t. In a situation where no one looks at the card, signed or not doesn’t make a difference. But in those situations where someone does, it should matter. The first situation is irrelevant. The second one is. How is not signing a card supposed to be _better_ in either of the cases??? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/35 "2016-11-30T14:55:15Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > In a situation where no one looks at the card, signed or not doesn’t make a difference. But in those situations where someone does, it should matter. The first situation is irrelevant. The second one is. How is not signing a card supposed to be _better_ in either of the cases??? Well, in the first situation (no one looks at it) it saves you 1½ seconds of your life’s time. Surely that’s better. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/36 "2016-11-30T15:44:20Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Wait, wait, wait. Hold on a second here. Let’s think for one second. > > One argument for _not_ signing your card is because it’s common for some people to not have a clerk look at their card. > > So a _not_ signed card is good for those situations where no one looks at it??? > > I’m, I’m … what? The “logic” of this isn’t. > > In a situation where no one looks at the card, signed or not doesn’t make a difference. But in those situations where someone does, it should matter. The first situation is irrelevant. The second one is. How is not signing a card supposed to be _better_ in either of the cases??? I couldn’t care less who does or doesn’t sign their card. My point, which combatted your original one about the mental competency of those who should _check_, is that it would be nigh impossible to routinely do so in a larger environment than your itty bitty town grocery store. Ain’t nobody got time for that, says customers, managers, owners and cashiers alike. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/37 "2016-11-30T15:52:06Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > In a situation where no one looks at the card, signed or not doesn’t make a difference. But in those situations where someone does, it should matter. The first situation is irrelevant. The second one is. How is not signing a card supposed to be _better_ in either of the cases??? It’s not about _better_ or _worse_. I’ve been using cards, credit and debit, since the 90s, and I’ve _never_ had anyone look at the signature. Not even once. Ever. So it isn’t that there are two situations you have to prepare for. Your second hypothetical situation, in which someone actually looks and cares about the signature on the back of your card, _doesn’t happen_. Furthermore, clerks aren’t skilled graphonomists. Writing a signature on your card does absolutely nothing for your security or the bank’s. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/38 "2016-11-30T16:00:17Z")
The above is exactly true. Even if we got our hands on your card, could take the time to look at every one that passes through our line, we’d only be able to give the most cursory glance at how it’s signed. Who on earth would make some sort of detailed comparison (to what?) and then… what is it that you propose we do exactly? Because it would only take a couple of raging mad moms being kept from this season’s hottest toys for their kids and screaming at us, to us completely walking off the job and leaving you all left to your own devices. And I’m still not even sure why. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/39 "2016-11-30T16:20:25Z")
I’ve had places look at the back of my card even when it wasn’t signed, and just continue the transaction. The only place I’ve been recently where it mattered was at the airport. I purchased airline tickets online, and had to show the card I used to purchase the tickets to the check-in people. I hadn’t signed, so they made me sign it there before they could proceed. Anyway, just sign your cards. What’s the big deal? ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385/40 "2016-11-30T19:53:27Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > So I present my unsigned card and it is rejected for not being signed. I then sign it on the spot and present it again. Is there now any reason it should not be accepted? I believe this tactic was previously mentioned. Yes, it is a problem. If a cashier is properly trained and alert, they should - SHOULD - request to see ID when a card is signed on the spot. Granted, the matter rests in the hands of the cashier. If awake and diligent, then a cashier should - SHOULD - not be dumb enough to assume a card signed on the spot makes everything all better and let you go without asking for further ID to verify the signature. Of course, SHOULD is the operative word here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-you-sign-your-credit-card/773385.md?page=3)