Signatures abolished for purchases over $100 in 2014

Credit card fraud is expected to decline significantly in the second half of 2014 with a recent decision from the ACCC to abolish the used of signatures for purchases over $100. Visa and MasterCard have pushed for the change and won, so that from 1 July 2014 consumers will be required to provide their pin for both credit and debit card transactions to be approved.

It is expected that Australia's 14,000 cafes and restaurants, staff and customers will be affected the most by the changes with customers now forced to leave their seats to pay for bills at the cashier using their PIN code, unless they pay in cash or a mobile payment machine is available.

Jost Stollmann, CEO of Tyro Payments believes the change has been a long time coming and will represent challenges for some of the banks. "We welcome and the support the move by the ACCC to have mandatory PIN transactions. With out mobile integrated EFTPOS solution we have long been ready for this change while the big banks have not."

Last year, Tyro worked closely with key software providers to develop Australia's first and only, all IP based "pay at table" solution, linking restaurant management software and payment terminals that allows the customer to split bills, pay and tip using their four digit pin.

Visa and MasterCard has invested millions to educate the public about the importance of being 'PIN-Wise' so this decision is a landmark win for them.

The argument is that it's virtually impossible for a fraudster to ascertain a PIN, while forging a signature is easy, so fraud from stolen credit cards is expected to take a real tumble after the $100 limit on signed for purchases comes into affect.

Over the next six months, cafes and restaurants around Australia will be facing an additional investments in pay at table technology if they wish not to inconvenience their customers, but in the long run it looks like a good thing for diners and banks who shell out billions to cover fraud each year.

The change will also bring Australia up to speed with retail technology and payment rules that has already been widely embraced abroad. From July 1, customers will need to use their pins to cover all transactions over $100 when they pay with any credit or debit card