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Thread ID: 116895 2011-03-24 21:36:00 do you have to sign for a credit card use? robsonde (120) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1189101 2011-03-24 21:36:00 the other day I used my credit card, the shop did not ask me to sign, I did not use a pin.
my credit card is an older style magstrip card NOT and chip and pin.

the person in the shop just took my card, did a swipe, pushed a few keys and handed me my recipt.

A friend at work has just told me that "you dont need to sign for less then $35."


what is the rules about this?
I thought that sign or pin was the only way to use a credit card, execpt on the internet (card not present) and in that case you mostly need the CVC number.
robsonde (120)
1189102 2011-03-24 21:54:00 Was a Macdonalds? They have some system where they don't need anything for purchases under $35. Dodgy. pctek (84)
1189103 2011-03-24 22:05:00 This is topical - a McDonalds employee ran up a $2.30 charge for a cheeseburger, using the credit card a policeman left behind ...

HERE (www.nzherald.co.nz)
WalOne (4202)
1189104 2011-03-24 22:36:00 WTF???

I can't imagine the Credit Card companies being very happy about this .

Although I guess any complaints would be refunded to their customer and the retailer would just 'suck it up' .

How fast do they need to put the transaction though that saving the time that a signature or a PIN entry takes is going to make them more efficient???

Not good for the Credit Card company image though (or the retailer for that matter) . . . .

And MacDonald's should be ashamed not sacking that staff member - that is out-and-out theft . Doesn't matter the value of the item . The card didn't belong to the staff member, and the staff member would know it didn't belong to him/her .

If $2 . 30 is OK to steal, then I guess $2 . 50 is OK too . And so is $5 . 00 - so $50 . 00 must be OK too, so then is $500 . 00 . $5000? $50,000? $500,000? $5,000,000? (But now we're getting into territory that is fiercely defended by failed finance company directors . . . . )

Who makes the call on when a specific dollar value becomes theft?
johcar (6283)
1189105 2011-03-24 22:48:00 I can't imagine the Credit Card companies being very happy about this .

Although I guess any complaints would be refunded to their customer and the retailer would just 'suck it up' .

Credit card companies (banks) do what they're told by the product 'owner' in the US . Happiness is irrelevant . All in the name of progress . . .

And the bank would wear it - the retailer is God and card issuers can't afford to piss them off .
allblack (6574)
1189106 2011-03-24 22:58:00 Was a Macdonalds? They have some system where they don't need anything for purchases under $35. Dodgy.
Thats if you are using the new chip card which everyone will be slowly migrated too when there old cards expire.
:)
Trev (427)
1189107 2011-03-24 23:18:00 Thats if you are using the new chip card which everyone will be slowly migrated too when there old cards expire.
:)

I have one of the new cards. Can you explain what this chip does for me, or the retailer?
WalOne (4202)
1189108 2011-03-24 23:31:00 I have a chip card and on at least two occasions I have been asked to sign, even though I had entered a PIN. Still don't know why. Pato (2463)
1189109 2011-03-24 23:42:00 Credit card companies (banks) do what they're told by the product 'owner' in the US. Happiness is irrelevant. All in the name of progress...

And the bank would wear it - the retailer is God and card issuers can't afford to piss them off.

When it come to Credit Card companies, the retailer is most definitely NOT God. Visa and Mastercard dictate the terms and the retailer must bend over and take it. And smile and say thank you.


I have one of the new cards. Can you explain what this chip does for me, or the retailer?

The chip embedded in the card is more secure than a magnetic strip - the data held on a mag strip is very easy to read, whereas a chip can (and does) have very strong encryption of the data held on it. These chip cards are much slower to transact on... Which may be the reasoning behind McDonald's $35-limit-no-signature decision.


I have a chip card and on at least two occasions I have been asked to sign, even though I had entered a PIN. Still don't know why.

I imagine that is just lack of training of the bunnies operating the till....
johcar (6283)
1189110 2011-03-24 23:59:00 The new chip cards store information and are much more secure than the mag strip cards.

Currently, many retailers are still using the older style eftpos machines that can take a while to process.

All eftpos machines in NZ are supposed to fully compatible and hence faster processing than current, was supposed to be fully up and running NZ wide in time for the rugby.

One of the rare times we go to McDonalds, only because there was a group of us and wanting something quick, used the company credit card which has the chip and no pin was required. Employee at McDonalds could not explain it but said some of the new chipped cards for some reason did not require the entering of a PIN to approve the sale while others even from the same card/bank still had to have a PIN entered.
PinoyKiw (9675)
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