December 3,2006

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  Is "Sign Here" a Thing of the Past?

  In a move much touted by consumers with busy lives, credit card companies are more and more allowing consumers to merely swipe their card for purchases under $25 – no signature required. The change would be implemented at drug stores, convenience stores, and fast food joints, in a move to speed up checkout times where it matters most and encourage consumers to use their cards more for everyday spending.
  
  Consumer advocates are wary of these new quick and easy transactions. For one, they point out, anything that makes spending money easier has the potential to lure consumers deeper and deeper into debt. Furthermore, increased volume of spending may make suspicious activity harder to spot on a statement, if there are many more items to wade through.
  
  Visa, of course, disagrees. The no-signature checkout will gain popularity with consumers and merchants alike, they estimate, because consumers will appreciate the convenience, and merchants will benefit from being able to turnover more transactions in a given period of time.
  
  As for whether the new technology is best for you, perhaps that depends on how much of a revolving balance you tend to carry from month to month. If you pay your balances off monthly, it may not impact you negatively – but the lure of many convenient small charges may drag you further into a black hole of debt, if you aren't prudent.
  
  
  
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