Was shopping Friday night at Wal-Mart. Slid my card through the card reader, a card that is my card of primary use, and for the first time ever*, the cashier was specifically prompted (she showed me the screen, and it was true) to compare signatures. Not to check ID, but to compare signatures. Seemed kind of odd since they're supposed to be doing that anyway, but ok.

* - May have happened before and I was not aware, but it is a fact that 95%+ of cashiers never bother to compare signatures, so I kinda doubt it.

They are supposed to compare signatures... but if they don't I don't mind (makes it faster for me).

That is odd... because another person posted here about the Wal-Mart POS telling the cashier to check ID.

WE ARE RANDOM CHECK SIGNATURE

NOT CHECK ID UNLESS IT IS "CALL CARD ISSUER FOR APPROVAL"

(not that I usually respond to SHORT LIST MEMBERS)

I am on the short list?

Whenever I use my AMEX at either WalMart or Albertsons, I get asked for ID - the screen says "Further ID Requested"....

I always get scared when I see that... dunno why lol

THE OP

WAL*MART I USE MY ZIP CODE

SALE IS A DONE DEAL AFTER ZIP CODE & SIGNATURE!!!

I am... as if it means anything.

I remember that thread, and that's why it seemed even more odd, having happened just a short time after the other person's incident.

Update:

Shopped at Wal-Mart again tonight. Same card. Different cashier. Larger overall purchase. Got the same prompt again... compare signatures. Only this time the screen was already turned toward me. I noticed it, but the cashier was pre-occupied and did not.

Oh well. Whatever.

Does this wal-mart have you swipe your own card or do you hand it to the cashier?

It's a self-swiping Wal-Mart. Normally, they never even touch the card, unless prompted.

For me 9 out of 10 times they never ask for the card to compare or ID for that matter.

SOME CUSTOMERS JUST HAND THE CASHIER THE CARD TO RUN FOR THEM...(like they don't know how)

...or don't want to

...or THINK that it is the cashiers job

There are some stores, not Wal-Mart, that still take the card so they can punch in some numbers. If they're gonna do that, they might as well take it at the beginning and do it all.

Just for fun, another update. Yesterday. Same store. Same card. This time, no message at all.

SEARS

Used AmEx card there. They enter the 4-digit code that is on the right side above your account #.

POST OFFICE...LAST 4 CARD NUMBERS

Oh, just for the hell of it, more updates... and weirdness.

Last night... went to the same Wal-Mart... different credit card... Patelco VISA this time. Again, the cashier was prompted to check the signature. Maybe it's just me, I don't know.

Later last night... had to run to the local grocery store... five dollars and change was the total... same Patelco VISA... I swipe the card and pick "credit" as the option... the screen askes me if I know my PIN. Huh? So, I hit cancel and do it again, and it asks me again. I hit 'no', and it completes the transaction like normal. Weird.

I guess I did that ONCE

Same thing happens to me if I use my debit card at walmart - asks for PIN, if I hit no, runs as a credit transaction.

I've had that happen at certain stores, also. Menards will even assume everything is debit unless you tell the cashier otherwise before you swipe your card. This one was different, though. It specifically asked "Do you know your PIN number?". I thought maybe I had hit debit by mistake, but no. I do have a PIN for that card, but it's filed away and I don't have it memorized.

The redundency, "PIN number" was theirs, btw, not mine.

The random Sig check sounds good to me. Otherwise ( if they compare sig everytime) there is no point in having self swipe. If they need to handle the card they might as well swipe it, too.

Honestly, my sig is not consistent, sometimes just a scribble. So that may not even tell anything. Many of my credit cards ( Store or gas card mostly, I think- so obviously not covered by V/MC policies) don't even have my name on them. So I guess if sig doesnt work, neither would ID.

I've been asking that question for years. If they're gonna handle the card anyway...



Mine is consistently distinctive enough that it's pretty good, but not always on some elctronic signature pads. I get some weird variations on some of those. One was so slipperly that there was no way I could have gotten even close no matter how hard I tried.

The PIN default is strictly a money issue. PIN transactions cost considerably less than CC transactions, so the retailers program their systems to "encourage" you to use the PIN.

That's what I always assumed. They're trying to steer the customer to the option that costs less for them.

In this case, though, the card is a credit card, and not debit. I have a PIN for cash advances at an ATM, but unless there's something that I'm unaware of, I didn't think you could even use a PIN on a credit-only card at a POS.

Visa/MC debit card can be used either way (like debit/PIN# or as Visa-MC).

Most stores default to PIN# because it is cheaper and faster than signing.

he said this was NOT a debit card though and that's why he found it strange to revert to the PIN immediately

Credit card can be used with a PIN# too. However then it counts as cash-advance.