David Wheeler shows how antiquated the written signature is:
While signatures remain America's chosen method of authorization, PIN-code transactions are much less susceptible to fraud. "Fraud rates on credit or debit cards that are signature-based are much higher than on cards with PIN protection," notes Chris Hawkins in his book A History of Signatures: From Cave Paintings to Robo-Signings. In 2005, a consulting firm found that signature-based debit card fraud rates were 15 times higher than PIN-based fraud rates.
If PIN codes work better, why are we still using signatures? Many retailers are asking the same question. "U.S. electronic payment technology is antiquated," says Brian Dodge, a senior vice president at the Retail Industry Leaders Association, which represents nine of the 10 largest American retailers. "Stronger fraud prevention technology — chip and PIN — is deployed in nearly every other industrialized nation except the U.S."
The Dish 