EMV Credit Card Security with No Signature Required

Get ready for faster transactions now that signatures are no longer a transaction requirement.

Financial institutions across the globe are issuing new cards that use an embedded chip, as opposed to signatures to validate credit card purchases. One of the most significant benefits of EMV cards is the reduction of card-present fraud and the support of three enhanced cardholder verification methods. The major credit card networks rolled out an update to their signature requirements in April 2018. Here are some of the details.

American Express

American Express was the first payment network to make signatures optional, globally. The chip and pin technology, contactless payment options and advanced algorithms enable vendors to minimize disruptions for customers while increasing fraud detection.

Discover

Discover removed the signature requirement and implemented digital authentication methods to improve the payment experience in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and the U.S. By using biometrics, multi-factor authentication and tokenization the transaction is more secure. Without the need for a signature, the process is also faster.

Mastercard

Mastercard cardholders in the US and Canada do not need to sign for credit and debit card purchases made in-store. The credit card company waited until the EMV chips became common before instituting the change. Even before the program change in April 2018, more than 80 percent of Mastercard in-store transactions were already completed without a signature at checkout.

Visa

Scribbling a hurried scrawl at checkout became officially outdated in when Visa rolled out their updated program in April of 2018. Merchants who accept the credit cards as payment can still ask for it, but a signature is no longer required. This change is also for vendors that use contactless payment solutions and for chip-and-signature debit and credit cards.

Paragon’s processing platform is certified to accept EMV transactions. Using this type of solution prevents merchants from being held liable if a customer pays with a fraudulent card, with or without a signature. Contact us today for information about enabling EMV in your software.