On Monday, American Express announced that it is no longer requiring a signature to purchase with their card. The move away from signatures will happen during April of next year, but this is not something new for AmEx. The company has already stopped requiring signatures for purchases below   $ 50 in the US. The same has been done in countries around the world by AmEx, but with other amounts. The executive vice of American express, Jaromir Divilek, said that the company’s fraud capabilities have advanced past the point of signatures.

The move away from required signatures will streamline purchases, and cut the time at check out for customers. Customers are already getting accustomed to buying without having to sign at checkout. Signatures are not required for online purchases, and now the new chip systems in cards don’t require signatures either, most of the time. Credit card technology has changed quite a bit, before information was stored on the magnetic strip on the back of the card. Now with this new chip technology, credit card information is more secure. The chip generates a random pin every time it is used, now because cards are more secured banks are not liable for fraudulent transactions, only stores who have yet to embrace the new chip technology. Technology is changing, along with the buying habits of customers. American Express is the first of its kind to phase out the signature across the board for all purchases. It is very probable that many will follow suit in the coming months, but AmEx has outpaced its competition and now has an advantage in the Market.