Don’t Punch In Your PIN; Sign Your John Hancock!

Whether you’re out on the town, shopping at the local mall, or just paying for lunch, you may use your debit card. And when you swipe your card, the cashier might ask you if you want to pay by Credit or Debit. But what does that really mean in relation to a debit card?

When you swipe your debit card and choose "credit," this means you are requesting to conduct a signature-based transaction, which requires your signature-not your PIN-to complete. You can also conduct signature-based transactions over the Internet or telephone, where you don’t have to have a physical signature.  And there are benefits to signing off instead!

Benefits of using your signature-

1.  Signing instead of using your PIN greatly reduces the risk of exposing your PIN number to identity thieves.
2.  Make shopping easier by just swiping your card and signing for your purchase. At Honor, we recommend you sign and run your Debit card as “credit” when you are given the option
3. You can even up the security of your card by registering your MasterCard SecureCode
4. Honor's Debit MasterCard Prewards allow you to save at your favorite stores instantly via text, email, or online! Sign up online at Honorcu.com 

Tips for signing-

1.  With most store signature pads, selecting Credit allows you to sign your name instead of punching in your PIN
2.  Even if you have already selected Credit, you may be asked to enter your PIN. Ask the cashier to run the purchase as Credit.
3. Many times, this means hitting the “red” button or the “cancel” button
4. For smaller transaction amounts, a signature may not be needed.