Why Should I Sign the Back of my Credit Card?

Due to rising expenses and a shortage of jobs, fraud and crime rates have started to see a record high. More people have started to find different ways through which they can fraud people for their money. One of the biggest contributors that have been known to play a very important role in this particular market is the unauthorized use of credit cards. When ever you decide to make a payment using your credit card, there isn't much checking that goes into the process of ensuring that the card actually belongs to yourself. Most stores simply take your card, swipe it through their machine and ask for a signature at the end.

There has been a heated debate in regards to whether or not signing the back of your credit card can help prevent fraud taking place and the reasons why one should sign their card in the first place. If you ever take out the time to read the terms and conditions of any credit card company that is authorized by say Visa, Discover or MasterCard; they specifically state that until and unless the back of a credit card has been signed, it cannot be used. If you make a payment at any store with an unsigned credit card, that particular store is legally liable for any charges that may be associated with that card.

The main reason that a signature panel exists behind a credit card is to ensure that the person using the card is the person who really should own it. The traditional procedure in regards to using a credit card is that the place at where it is being used should ask for some form of identification to make sure that you are the real owner of the credit card. For this reason, signing the back of the credit card is compulsory and we all should do it. The moment you get your credit card through the post or if you decide to collect it at the bank your self; the first thing that you should do is sign the back of the card.

Knowing that the back of your credit card is signed with your legal signature, you do not have to worry about it being used without your authorization. If your credit card is lost or stolen and used by an unauthorized individual, you can always take the company that accepted your card to court under breach of regulations. They would be required to pay all the damages and expenses incurred. It is the duty of every cashier to check that the signature on the back of the credit card is in actual fact registered to the person who is using it. This is usually achieved by cross referencing the signature to some other form of identification card such as a driving licensee.

Even though everyone has their own opinion as to whether or not signing the back of their credit card is important or not, we felt the need to identify the real facts that one should be aware off. Based on these facts, one can easily make an informed decision for themselves as to whether or not they feel that a signature on the reverse side of their credit card is compulsory or not.

Discuss this issue at Sign the back of my credit card forum.