Authenticating a payment is an important part of a credit card transaction. No company wants to be known
for allowing a fraudulent purchase takes place at their store. However, it can be difficult and time-
consuming to obtain authentication. Fortunately, there are some ways that these problems can be
eliminated.
Visa Raises Their No Signature Limit
Visa has decided to waive the signature requirement for all purchases under $50. This means a Visa card holder does not have to sign when they go to the store for a gallon of milk. The new rule is meant to save time for both the merchant and the customer. Bypassing the signature makes to process each transaction. Payment processing that is fast and easy can help move lines and process more sales per day.
PIN or Signature
What about purchases that need to be authenticated? There has been a raging debate over how to accomplish this. In Europe, most credit card users need to enter a PIN in order to authenticate the transaction. However, this is because the infrastructure is limited overseas. The United States has the technical capability to encode your signature into your card.
Which Is Better For Processing Credit Cards
Allowing a cardholder to embed their signature into their card can help to reduce fraud. It will allow for online confirmation of all credit card transactions. Steps can be taken much faster if an unauthorized user were to make a purchase with a credit card. What happens if you are traveling overseas? You would have to have a PIN number associated with your card. Otherwise, you may not be able to do anything with your card. There is no point to having a credit card if you cannot use it.
Financial Concerns Are At Play
Merchant services providers may prefer cards with a PIN because they result in higher fee per transaction. It would make sense that they would be pushing for users to have to enter a PIN for each transaction. There would be more transactions processed because many countries overseas can only process those types of transactions. Therefore, why would a credit card processing company want to lose something that could be so lucrative to them?
A Compromise May Work Best
A mixture of the two technologies could be how the dispute is resolved. The first option for users at a Kiosk could be to enter a PIN. However, they would be able to use their card even if it wasn’t tied to a PIN. Smaller financial institutions may start out with a signature card because it is cheaper to accept. This compromise could work out until one technology becomes the mainstream option. Consumers should choose a card that works best for their situation. It may be worth using a card that uses a signature in the United States while carrying a card that requires a PIN while traveling overseas. Credit card users may need to be flexible for now. All that matters is that you can use your credit card in a secure manner no matter where you are.