American Express has decided do away with the need for merchants to take signatures from cardholders for all transactions at the point of sale, starting April next year.
The initiative is intended to simplify and quicken checkout experience, and slash merchants’ operating costs associated with retaining signatures.
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“The need for signatures has declined around the world due to a number of advancements in the payments industry,” the company said in its press statement.
The elimination will be applicable to all accepting merchants and transactions irrespective of purchase amount.
American Express Global Network business executive vice-president Jaromir Divilek said: “Our fraud capabilities have advanced so that signatures are no longer necessary to fight fraud. In addition, the majority of American Express transactions today already do not require a signature at the point of sale as a result of previous policy changes we made to help our merchants.”
The firm has employed advanced machine learning algorithms for accurate detection of fraud and to reduce disruption in genuine spending of a cardholder.
