The majority of bank cards must still be signed by their holder. However, more and more cards no longer have this panel. An abandonment of the signature which is explained by the evolution of technologies.
While the majority of bank cards still have a signature panel, making it mandatory, some issuers now issue cards without this panel. Some new cards, such as the CB Visa Evolution card, no longer have the signature panel, as explained by Socit Generale.
How then to explain the disappearance of the signature on the back of bank cards? This can be a story of cost for the issuer, explains Angelo Caci, general manager of Syrtals Cards. Especially since the signature is no longer used. It’s a remnant of the past, from the moment we signed the slip. But with the advent of chip and pin (chip and code), which is the major feature of current card systems, the signature will continue to deteriorate.
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Signature optional
The rules of the Mastercard and Visa networks are in the process of changing and making this signature panel optional, confirms the Société Générale. It is likely that in the future, new cards will no longer include this attribute. An opinion shared by Angelo Caci: The signature strip will most likely disappear in the future. Especially since the cards will increasingly tend to become dematerialized inside a telephone, for example. If the plastic support will not disappear immediately, we can see that the uses are changing. Everything will become dematerialized, we are moving towards new ways of being identified and authenticated.
Mobile payment is proof of this. Today, when making a purchase with a smartphone, it is very often the buyer’s fingerprint that is requested, or, at the very least, a code that only he or she has. However, mobile payment is developing but is far from having outperformed other payment methods.
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While the payment card still has a bright future ahead of it, a first revolution is underway. In a post titled Goodbye magnetic stripMastercard thus announced the end of magnetic stripe cards: Today’s smart cards are powered by microprocessors that are much more powerful and secure, and many of them also have tiny antennas that allow contactless transactions, explains Mastercard on its site. Biometric cards, which combine fingerprints with chips to verify a cardholder’s identity, provide another layer of security.
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Thus, the magnetic strip should disappear from Mastercard cards by 2033, or even 2024 in Europe. Acting by the same at the end of the signature, and therefore the disappearance of the panel for this purpose on the cards.
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