Is the use of signatures for payment authentication becoming obsolete?
Payments
Asked by Question Bot01/Jun/20151 answer
1 Answer
F
Faisal Khan
Answered 01/Jun/2015
Dead? No. Dying, Yes (isn't everything?)
Will it be around for the next 5-10 years: for sure.
Unbeknownst to many people, the signature was never meant to be used as a measure to authenticate a payment. It was meant to announce your identity in writing. It was meant to authenticate your identity. By signing, you say who you are.
The act of autographing a receipt is your acknowledgement of the transaction data on the receipt and that the merchant has in good faith executed the transaction which the Buyer in good faith has accepted.
In ideal circumstances, the signature on the receipt must be validated (cursory comparison) with the signature on say a government issued ID. Because you could mimic a signature on a government ID, it was assumed in good faith, you are who you say you are.
Signature for example is still the de facto standard on a cheque. It is the acknowledgment of authorization.
Is a PIN more secure than a Signature? Absolutely not!
If the signature is digitally analyzed every time a payment is made, it is far far more secure than a 4 digit PIN. The problem is, we don't have many payment systems that use the signatures and then (digitally) analyze them for authorization.
The only example I know of where this is being done is a fintech startup out of Belgium called (appropriately) Sign2Pay (See http://sign2pay.com). I've been tracking them and they seem to have unique niche to capture the European Debit Card market for payment on the mobile, using what else, but the signature!
Sign2Pay uses the signature as the PIN equivalent for the payment authorization. Its extremely fast, almost impossible to duplicate and very secure.
Here is their mobile app screen, where you simply sign and that is the authorization:
Important is to feel the richness of the signature canvas... no lag or latency, this is definitely not your average DHL or UPS signature field.
Full Disclosure: I consult with Sign2Pay.
Will it be around for the next 5-10 years: for sure.
Unbeknownst to many people, the signature was never meant to be used as a measure to authenticate a payment. It was meant to announce your identity in writing. It was meant to authenticate your identity. By signing, you say who you are.
The act of autographing a receipt is your acknowledgement of the transaction data on the receipt and that the merchant has in good faith executed the transaction which the Buyer in good faith has accepted.
In ideal circumstances, the signature on the receipt must be validated (cursory comparison) with the signature on say a government issued ID. Because you could mimic a signature on a government ID, it was assumed in good faith, you are who you say you are.
Signature for example is still the de facto standard on a cheque. It is the acknowledgment of authorization.
Is a PIN more secure than a Signature? Absolutely not!
If the signature is digitally analyzed every time a payment is made, it is far far more secure than a 4 digit PIN. The problem is, we don't have many payment systems that use the signatures and then (digitally) analyze them for authorization.
The only example I know of where this is being done is a fintech startup out of Belgium called (appropriately) Sign2Pay (See http://sign2pay.com). I've been tracking them and they seem to have unique niche to capture the European Debit Card market for payment on the mobile, using what else, but the signature!
Sign2Pay uses the signature as the PIN equivalent for the payment authorization. Its extremely fast, almost impossible to duplicate and very secure.
Here is their mobile app screen, where you simply sign and that is the authorization:
Quite a few elements are measured when the signature is being done to ensure it is indeed the correct one:
If you think a signature is easy to hack: try the system: visit http://www.sign2pay.com/try and "forge" a celebrity signature. (You will need an iPhone and go to landscape mode to sign).
Important is to feel the richness of the signature canvas... no lag or latency, this is definitely not your average DHL or UPS signature field.
Full Disclosure: I consult with Sign2Pay.