Kip Tips
Showing ID When Paying With a Card
Do you have to hand over your driver's license when a merchant asks?
By Cameron Huddleston, Contributing Editor, Kiplinger.com
February 19, 2010
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Think back to the last time you paid for something with a credit card. Did the merchant ask to see a photo ID? Did you hand it over or balk at the request?
Usually I'm glad when a merchant asks to see my driver's license because I had a credit card stolen from my wallet once. If merchants had asked to see the thief's ID when he used my card, maybe his spending spree would've been stopped quicker. Or maybe not.
You see, merchants ARE allowed to ask customers for identification when they use a credit card. However, merchants usually CAN'T refuse to accept your Visa or MasterCard if you don't show ID (the exceptions are when you're buying alcohol, tobacco products or certain drugs), according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
So if you don't want to show your driver's license -- which lists your birth date and address -- to a stranger, you can say "no" the next time a sales clerk asks for ID. And some experts say it's better to sign the back of your card than write "see photo ID" because it's easier to create a fake ID than fake someone's signature.
Take our poll to let us know how you feel about merchants asking for ID when you pay with a credit card.
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Reader Comments (16)
Posted by: Cole at 02/19/2010 06:50:39 PM
Most cards aren't valid without a signature, so writing "see photo ID" in the box makes them unacceptable if a merchant is paying attention. And if the merchant isn't paying attention, writing "see photo ID" in the signature box won't make any difference anyway.
Posted by: Weiwen at 02/20/2010 07:19:17 AM
I have more than one friend, plus my wife, who insists on writing "see ID" on their credit cards. It annoys me solely because it's against the credit card regulations. But no merchant has ever declined a card and it does make sense.
Posted by: Alex at 02/20/2010 10:05:35 AM
I've encountered this on so many occasions. Some stores like Bloomingdales, have made it a storewide policy to ask for your ID. When you refuse, they reject the sale. What can someone do in instances like this? Your article says they "can't" refuse to accept the card, but it has happened on so many occasions.
Posted by: Todd at 02/22/2010 02:37:56 PM
If they reject the sale your only course of action is to call the credit card issuer, they usually get quite nasty with a merchant who won't allow the use of a card, as they get a percentage of each sale!
Posted by: Marty at 02/22/2010 02:53:57 PM
I will not supply an ID when asked. I tell them I see no notice in the establishment and they are picking me out for some unknown reason that I do not accept. If need be, I leave my products at the checkout and walk out without the products. No sale. If they credit card companies (banks) were serious about reducing theft, they would simply put people's pictures on the front of the credit cards. Citi once did that and I thought it was a great idea. The banks have no incentive to reduce theft because anything that reduces card use reduces their profits and they simply pass off the theft losses on the rest of the card holders.
Posted by: Dan at 02/22/2010 03:21:13 PM
REALLY??? Think twice about showing your ID to a merchant so they can verify it is you that is using YOUR credit card? That should be a law that all merchants are required to check ID prior to credit card use then maybe there wouldn't as much fraud as there is today. I can't begin to count the times I used my credit card or debit card, as a credit card, and the merchant didn't even bother to ask for ID. I could have been using a stolen card for all they knew. Bottom line, merchants can care less, except for the sale, and the MERCHANTS are part of the problem when they can be part of the solution. Honestly, unless a cashier has a photographic memory, and can record ALL of your information in a flash, I think your Identity is safe, but you are not safe when a cashier does not check your ID and your bank account, and or credit card limit is being drained because soemone is using your stolen card. I say put the responsibility on the merchant to check ID so for one; They don't lose money, and two; HELP PREVENT FRAUD, what's so hard about that? No ID, NO SALE!!! One more thing, why sign the back of your credit card, the freaking merchants DON"T ASK FOR ID ANYWAYS!!!!!
Posted by: joe at 02/22/2010 05:20:03 PM
A fake id is more difficult than a signature? And how does the merchant know what your signature is supposed to look like? And signing the backs of cards is pretty difficult and usually ends up in a very sloppy signature that does not look like your real signature. I know when I sign those keypads or a receipt I just scribble something and no one ever really looks at it. Sometimes when a keypad screen is really bad i just draw a line through it and don't get questioned. Credit cards are simple for opportunistic people to steal and use and there is not much we can do about it unless we require a pin along with it.
Posted by: AMen_CPA at 02/22/2010 06:07:55 PM
B. S.! NO company is required to accept anyone's credit card. Company policy can require a valid ID with any credit card purchase that they choose to accept for tender. Just like they have the right to refuse checks as payment, they can accept or reject plastic. As for the signature on the back of a credit card authenticating validity; that rule no longer applies because people can pay via credit card for online purchases and the ability to forge a signature is actually quite easy. Personally, I am grateful when a cashier asks for my ID. That in itself lowers the chances of theft. It used to be standard poolicy that one would need to produce a valid photo ID with a signature in order to use a credit card but merchants have gotten lazy, and online purchasing makes credit card theft super simple and highly profitable.
Posted by: Cici at 02/22/2010 07:31:18 PM
I, too, have gone head-to-head with merchants over this issue, since I know the rules--Visa and MC mandate that merchants can't REQUIRE the buyer to show ID. However, time and time again, mechants insist that you do show ID (are you listening, Sports Authority?) and if you refuse, merchants tell you to pay cash or to shop elsewhere. So this article is pretty misleading, unless you're planning to follow up with card merchants on what can be done by consumers to stop this practice.
Posted by: Buzz at 02/23/2010 12:13:21 AM
These people that steal credit cards don't get id's made becasue they know that 9 out of 10 merchants don't ask and they know they only have about a day or two to enjoy the spree and if one turns them down then party over and they walk away. Remember these merchants running the register make just over minimum wage, don't expect them to ever be comparing signatures. "See ID" is the best alternative, perhaps they can at least do they are actually honoring your request and if they did it everytime theft would be down.
Posted by: Tom at 02/23/2010 07:54:00 AM
This article is a little vague, you mean you can say no if you've signed your card rather than written "See ID" on it, right? I have See ID written on all of my credit cards, and maybe one in every 20 transactions, a cashier actually asks for it.
Posted by: Jo at 02/25/2010 02:30:44 PM
My photo is on the front of two of my credit cards. I am 76. I sent my granddaughter or her friend (both 19) shopping for me several times a week last summer. Neither of them had any trouble using my credit card. Clerks don't look at photos, sigs, or the back of the card in general. I liked the convenience. However, I live in a town of about 30,000, and we probably don't have as many problems with misuse of c.c. as larger places.
Posted by: Megan at 03/04/2010 02:56:06 PM
I worked retail with a lady who would swipe the credit card and then ask to see the customer's ID. I always wondered what she would do if someone didn't have ID or produced an ID which didn't match the credit card. By then it's too late!
Posted by: railiaSor at 03/09/2010 08:46:21 AM
Oh thank you!
Posted by: Robert at 03/12/2010 09:20:24 PM
Dated, but certainly relevant: See zug.com/pranks/credit/
Posted by: Lisa at 03/13/2010 12:53:55 PM
I write on the back of my credit cards "ASK FOR PIC ID" on the signature space mear my signature and thank them when they do! It is also highlighted in pink!