N26

Highland76

jonnygee2 wrote: »

The last time I signed the back of a debit card was about 15 years ago. That 'not valid unless signed' text is largely a legacy thing.

I guess you will need one if you go to the US or some other countries as signatures are still common there. In the UK it's very unlikely to make a difference.

Thanks but why would most UK banks/BS continue to write "not valid unless signed" & provide a signature strip on the back of cards (which the N26 card hasn't) if it wasn't a requirement to sign the card? Perhaps its a requirement you agree to the t&c's of using the card? I'm well aware that signatures required for a purchase are now mostly redundant with chip & pin.

SnowTiger

Highland76 wrote: »

I recently opened a standard N26 account & today received my debit card in the post. Can someone confirm that a signature is not required on the back of the card? Seems rather strange if this is the case as every card I've been issued with has always had "not valid unless signed" printed on the back.

When was the last time anyone checked the signature on the back of your card? And what did they check it against?

How would an ATM or POS machine know whether you've signed the card or not?

[Deleted User]

Plus not many retailers will take a signature payment these days, this was even true at a retailer I worked at 10 years ago so even more so now. - PIN or contactless only.

Highland76

SnowTiger wrote: »

When was the last time anyone checked the signature on the back of your card? And what did they check it against?

How would an ATM or POS machine know whether you've signed the card or not?

Not had it happen to me but perhaps some jobsworth retailer could refuse to accept the card if you hadn't signed it and it said "not valid unless signed" on the back? if he was even a bigger jobsworth, he could make sure the signature closely matches to the name on the front of the card? Of course if it was a fraudster using the card he would have to be pretty thick to sign using a different name versus to what was displayed on the front but never underestimate the stupidity of some criminals...

Highland76

Answering my own question here, N26 have advised me a signature is NOT required on the back of their debit card.

gt94sss2

Including the signature strip on Mastercards is now optional as a prelude to being phased out

https://newsroom.mastercard.com/press-releases/signing-off-mastercard-moves-beyond-signatures-worldwide/

Highland76

gt94sss2 wrote: »

Including the signature strip on Mastercards is now optional as a prelude to being phased out

https://newsroom.mastercard.com/press-releases/signing-off-mastercard-moves-beyond-signatures-worldwide/

Thanks, that probably explains N26's decision.

Out of curiosity, if a chip & pin card has the words " not valid unless signed" on the back and the cardholder hasn't signed on the signature strip - whether deliberately or not - I guess strictly speaking you're not supposed to be using the card? Of course every man, every criminal, and his dog know that you can still make physical transactions with an unsigned chip & pin card but my question is more to do with not following your issuers advice on the back of your card, ie would you be in breach of your issuers t&c's by using an unsigned card if they required you to sign it?

stphnstevey

Reading this thread again, looking on the website and still can't see the benefit of this account????

sal_III

Highland76 wrote: »

Not had it happen to me but perhaps some jobsworth retailer could refuse to accept the card if you hadn't signed it and it said "not valid unless signed" on the back? if he was even a bigger jobsworth, he could make sure the signature closely matches to the name on the front of the card? Of course if it was a fraudster using the card he would have to be pretty thick to sign using a different name versus to what was displayed on the front but never underestimate the stupidity of some criminals...

If that happens to me I would be happy to take my custom elsewhere seeing how no one has ever asked to see the signature (which isn't there to begin with) in the past decade.

The requirement is legacy, the same way the numbers are still being raised from the rest of the card, which was used in the olden days to create an imprint of the card as a receipt.

Highland76

stphnstevey wrote: »

Reading this thread again, looking on the website and still can't see the benefit of this account????

As things stand, probably not a lot other than free overseas usage for their debit card though cash withdrawals are hit with a 1.7% charge on their free account. However the game changer will be once they allow international outgoing/incoming payments using the Transferwise platform, like they do with their German accounts. IMHO that will make them stand out.