Do new NatWest credit cards need a signature on the back?

GustyGardenGalaxy

My old NatWest CC has a signature strip with 'authorised signature' printed above it.

My new card also has what looks like a signore strip below the magnetic strip but no wording above the apparent signature strip and nothing related to it on the letter that the card was attached to.

I'm assuming that a signature isn't required any more but if not, why don't NatWest indicate this for those of us who are are using to signing the back of a new credit card?

And, should I sign the strip anyway?

born_again

TBH, I have not signed any card for years. Even when you had swipe & sign at shops the odds on them checking was so slim, I can't ever remember it happening.

flaneurs_lobster

Coincidentally received a new debit card this weekend (not NatWest, Co-Op). Just checked the (literally) attached letter, it does say that you should sign the card on receipt.

It doesn't say why.

I'd guess that there are still places overseas where chip'n'pin is not ubiquitous? Would a signature be relevant there?

TractorFactor

flaneurs_lobster said:

Coincidentally received a new debit card this weekend (not NatWest, Co-Op). Just checked the (literally) attached letter, it does say that you should sign the card on receipt.

"should" not "must".

It's an old mechanic that not many banks have thought about changing.

I, too, have not signed a card in 15+ years.

Theleak250

I can’t remember the last time someone checked the signature on the back of my card, certainly haven’t signed it for some time.

I think it was when I was getting foreign currency at an exchange in 2017. They compared it to my license signature. Hasn’t been used since.

Gandalf644

A good friend sadly has early onset dementia and cannot remember PIN's etc. 

So his credit card operates as a 'Chip & Signature' card. When the card is put into the PIN machine the POS machine spits out some sort of till roll which he has to sign. The shop should then check the signature on the back of the card to make sure it matches. 

How often the shops actually do check the signatures match is anyones guess though most do seem to know about 'chip & signature'.  

So the signature block is possibly on cards as a disability aid/reasonable adjustment for those who need 'chip & signature'.  

dumpster_fire2025

flaneurs_lobster said:

Coincidentally received a new debit card this weekend (not NatWest, Co-Op). Just checked the (literally) attached letter, it does say that you should sign the card on receipt.

It doesn't say why.

I'd guess that there are still places overseas where chip'n'pin is not ubiquitous? Would a signature be relevant there?

Possibly. It's basically an anti-theft mechanism that works if someone manages to steal your card, find a place that accepts swipe and sign and can't manage to pull off a close enough approximation to your signature for the person on the till, who doesn't care, to notice.

gbhxu

An even better security feature would be the inclusion of your photo on the card.

I remember seeing this done on an Australian credit card many years ago when we still used the old fashioned card machine 

flaneurs_lobster

gbhxu said:

An even better security feature would be the inclusion of your photo on the card.

I remember seeing this done on an Australian credit card many years ago when we still used the old fashioned card machine 

RBS certainly did this for a while on their debit cards (still have mine somewhere), thumbnail-sized b&w headshot on the back. Not sure if this was just a pilot or if it was available generally.

EarthBoy

flaneurs_lobster said:

RBS certainly did this for a while on their debit cards (still have mine somewhere), thumbnail-sized b&w headshot on the back. Not sure if this was just a pilot or if it was available generally.

I had one too, it must have been in the late 80s.  I thought it was a very good feature and I was surprised that other banks didn't copy the idea. 

martinbainbridge1975

The strip on the natwest card is tiny with barely any space to sign the card was my thought.

I tend to save the card  details into apple pay and rarely carry the card itself, like above I  don't tend to sign as it is all chip and pin or contactless