Oh, boy. This is a fan-favorite around my home. I’d like merchants to stop asking me for identification when I use my credit card at my favorite retail store. My wife, on the other hand, gets upset if the cashier ignores the back of her card, which says “CID.” Good, old Syd. But the CID brigade really isn’t part of today’s discussion. No. That was Friday’s story. Fact is, today’s story addresses the issue of whether retailers should require an identification as a condition of sale. They should not. Let’s get the rule out of the way first. Merchants, per their agreement with Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover, are not allowed, when a customer presents a valid credit card at the register, to make identification a condition of the sale. Visa and MasterCard don’t even want retailers to ask for ID. American Express and Discover, meanwhile, don’t forbid the practice but encourage retailers to refrain from asking for identification. All four of the payment-network companies prefer that retailers compare the signature on the back of the card to the signature on the transaction slip. Now you know the rule.In practice, however, the rules are often not followed. Cashiers, more often than not, ask for identification at the point of sale. And I understand why. They’re simply following orders — orders from their bosses who are worried about fraudulent credit-card purchases. I get it. I’m sympathetic to the rationale. That said, I’d prefer that retailers not ask me for ID. Here’s why: I’d like to get in and out of the store as quickly as possible. Pulling out my ID is just one more thing that I have to do. Moreover, pulling out my ID also increases the likelihood of me losing it. I’ve actually left my ID at the checkout counter before. On other occasions, I’ve seen people in front of me drop their identification and start walking away. Finally, I know that a lot of people would like to think that every cashier at the register is a dope — and a brainless one at that — but I don’t buy it. It hasn’t been my experience that cashiers are inherently stupid. Quite the opposite, actually.I bring this part up because people often think there is no way that a cashier could remember the details of your identification along with the essential parts of your credit card. Don’t kid yourself. These cashiers are not mindless idiots. Some of them, in fact, are both intelligent and criminal. One only needs to scan the newspaper to read about some ingenious cashier involved in the latest credit-card scam du jour. Because I don’t know which ones possess both intelligence and criminal tendencies, I’d rather keep my identification in my wallet so that I don’t have to find out. In the end, I’d simply rather keep my full legal name, address, date of birth, and driver license number private. I used to debate the issue at the cash register when a cashier would ask me for identification. I no longer do that. First off, as I mentioned before, the cashier is only doing his or her job. I don’t want to give that person grief. It’s not fair. What I’ve resorted to is using my student identification. Want to see a picture? Have at it. There isn’t much more than that on my card. My full name isn’t there, my address isn’t included, my driver license isn’t anywhere to be found, and my date of birth is absent as well. The cashier is satisfied and I am satisfied (even if my chances of losing my student card go up each time I pull it out). Other people, though, are much more rabid when it comes to this issue. Not only do they refuse to show ID, they’ll get in shouting matches with cashiers at the register. Additionally, after they’ve left the store, some of these customers call Visa or MasterCard and report the retailer for violating the merchant agreement it signed. MasterCard has provided a Web site where customers can file complaints. These customers use it. See here. Visa, meanwhile, does not provide an online form. Instead, it recommends that you contact your credit-card company, which will know how to handle Visa merchant violations. You can also notify Visa via email at askvisacorporate@visa.com.Those who don’t mind getting asked for ID (and showing it) think that those who insist on not showing ID are goofy. What’s the big deal? Show the ID and be on your merry way. Plus, by showing ID, you’re cutting down on the risk of having your card used for a bunch of fraudulent purchases. Showing ID protects you, they argue. There is no shortage of opinions when it comes to this issue. People who don’t have a problem complying with ID requests think that those who do have a problem are idiots. Those who don’t want to comply with ID requests, think those who do are complete morons. Don’t believe me? I’m betting that I’ll have plenty of comments (below) illustrating my point.In the meantime, I’ve found a happy medium. Though I would rather not show any form of identification when I use my credit card, I’m perfectly content to use my nondescript student identification. It ain’t much (mostly just a picture), but it seems to satisfy the cashier.It’s not perfect, but it’ll do for now.
Leave a Reply