A reader named Michael wrote in to tell us about a recent trip to his local Walmart, where he and his wife picked up a pile of groceries totaling over $100. When his wife attempted to pay with her MasterCard at the register, she was asked for a photo ID.
The cashier said that it was store policy to require ID for all credit card purchases over $100. But if, as Michael says, the card was signed on the back, then the store was in violation of MasterCard’s merchant’s agreement by demanding to see ID before completing the transaction.
Alas, Michael’s wife relented and pulled out her license just to get out of there before the food went bad. But, regardless of what a cashier ever tells you, if a credit card is signed on the back, the merchant can not demand photo ID in order to complete the transaction. There are situations where a merchant may require additional information, such as a zip code, for verifying phone/online/mail orders or for shipping purposes. But they don’t need to see your ID in those situations either.
Here is some pretty good information about credit card facts and fictions.
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if its a fraud counter-measure, i’m all for it, especially when its just a quick look
fraud/identity theft is so rampant, i’m surprised picture credit/debit cards aren’t standard
that being said, i think its not too unreasonable, or maybe a higher limit, say $2oo and just a quick flash of picture ID if paying by credit card
My target requests ID for purchases over $200
I’m still curious as to how many people willcomplain about showing ID to the clerk but are willing to do it when purchasing alcohol. It seems rather disingenuous to argue about showing the “sensitive” information on an ID in this instance yet be willing to show it when buying a 6 pack of beer.
Because it’s the law.
That’s intellectually dishonest. You’re saying that your okay showing your ID when buying alcohol because it’s a legal requirement but that you’re not okay showing your ID when using a credit card because the clerk might compromise your identidy by looking at your ID.
I thought the whole point is to ensure the signature on the card matches the signature on the ID which matches the picture on said ID to your face, in an effort to protect again unauthorized use and identity theft. Really, is it such a huge deal to show your ID?
I wonder how the OP would feel if their card was stolen and someone rang up hundreds or thousands of dollars in purchases which could have been prevented if the cashier had asked for an ID.
I remember a time not that long ago when Wal-Mart asked for ID every time you used a credit card, regardless of the amount. I honestly don’t see the problem here.
I don’t think I’d be that irritated about showing my license in order to use a credit card. However, our licenses here used to have our SS numbers on them (lots of people still have their licenses this way in my state). If that were the case, I’d probably object.
Instead of arguing over this with the cashier I have found a solution. I cut the sticky end of a Super Sticky Post-it note and place that over my address and DL#. Just my name and picture shows. I haven’t had any problems yet.
I get asked for ID all the time. I whip out my wallet, flash it in their general direction, and they don’t even glance at it.
Show me your papers… SLAVE!
While you’re at it, bend over for me.
…Walmart’s been doing this for at least 5 years.
I love this site but once in a while you feature a story, such as this, that blows my mind. She was asked to show her ID to prove that she was the cardholder…..BFD! When I am asked to show my ID for credit card purchases I always tell the cashier I appreciate it since they are checking to make sure my card is not being fraudulently used. Next week you guys will feature a story about how a consumer got ripped off because someone stole their credit card, used it at wal mart and the cashier did not ask to see ID. Wal-Mart will be the bad guy in either case. Make up your freaking mind Consumerist!!!!!!
Boo fucking hoo. Show the damn ID. If they’re working at Walmart, I doubt they’ve got the photographic memory super power.
I like the idea of them asking for ID because it deters possible credit card theft.
Even if I didn’t want to show my ID, or thought I shouldn’t because it’s a violation of the merchant agreement, leaving my stuff there and walking out is just stupid. You’re not proving anything to anyone, the cashier could care less about your protest, some poor guy making minimum wage has to go put all your junk away, and you just wasted a huge amount of your time over something that would have taken you all of 5 seconds.
Lots of grocery stores/retail stores/supermarkets asks to see ID and I never really thought of that as a big deal? They almost always just take a glance at it anyway, doubt they really saw much of anything.
If people are that paranoid about ID theft then maybe they should carry more cash around or use debit card? Also if you think about it the other way, if someone stole your card, the clerk checking for ID could potentially stop thieves from making unauthorized purchases, no?
Also, even for people who does not have DL, aren’t there state issued ID cards that look just like DL? So we don’t have to carry passports around all the time.
There are several reasons why showing ID is absurd. First, Wal-Mart has agreed to the terms of the MasterCard Merchant Agreement. By requiring ID in this instance, Wal-Mart is in violation. Second, producing ID does not really protect the consumer. The most a consumer is responsible for if your credit card is stolen is $50, and if you report it stolen or missing quickly, most credit card companies will also waive the $50. Third, lines at Wal-Mart are long enough, and most cashiers move at a snails pace. Having to ask every person to produce ID will only increase the wait times to check out. Fourth, are you going to be okay when they next ask to take your fingerprint or picture everytime you purchase your groceries?
I got an idea!!! Gather 1000 people with credit cards to walk into an Walmart at different times of a day, pretending to be just like any other shoppers. Everyone grab more than $100 of stuff and ask to pay with credit card. When the Walmart employee ask for ID, just say “no thanks” and walk out. Their lines will be filled up with merchandise ready to be put back onto the shelves…
Even better, everyone grab more than $100 of milk or dairy products, and if they don’t put it back quickly they go bad… Perfect way to protest the ID check. (Though I feel sorry for the cows to have their milk wasted)…
I got an idea!!! Gather 1000 people with credit cards to walk into an Walmart at different times of a day, pretending to be just like any other shoppers. Everyone grab more than $100 of stuff and ask to pay with credit card. When the Walmart employee ask for ID, just say “no thanks” and walk out. Their lines will be filled up with merchandise ready to be put back onto the shelves…
Even better, everyone grab more than $100 of milk or dairy products, and if they don’t put it back quickly they go bad… Perfect way to protest the ID check. (Though I feel sorry for the cows to have their milk wasted)…
Or, how about find 1000 people to spend over $100 on a credit card with them showing their ID without getting their panties in a twist. oh wait….
The community college I go to has a large sign at the register of their snack bar that states that they require ID on ALL c.c. purchases. The other day I notified the main lady there of the Visa/MC agreements and what they say. She said to find them and bring them to her and she would send them to someone higher up at the school.
I just got done looking up both agreements, and thought I’d share them.
Here’s the Mastercard agreement, and part about requireing additional ID is on Pg. 111:
http://www.mastercard.com/us/merchant/pdf/BM-Entire_Manual_public.pdf
And here’s the Visa agreement, with the ID info being on pg. 468:
http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/visa-international-operating-regulations-main.pdf
This is all about someone just looking for a reason to bitch about a minor inconvenience.
I write “PLEASE SEE PICTURE ID” on the signature line of my cards and I thank cashiers every time they follow this request – and question them as to why they didn’t ask for my ID if they ignore it. I know this won’t stop a seasoned criminal from using my credit card – but if it makes it too much of a hassle for a small-time thief to deal with then it’s worth doing.
Everyone freaks out about how easy it is to steal someone’s identity (if it happened to me I’d freak out for sure) – yet when a merchant institutes a simple strategy to help thwart this problem we go all “Big Brother is watching – beware!” on them. I’m not even going to comment about the fact that this person chose to grocery shop at Walmart in the first place.
State law overrides merchant agreements. In the state of Washington (and some others), state law says retailers CAN refuse a purchase if photo ID is not present.
Source: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2003-04/Pdf/Bill%20Reports/House/5720.HBR.pdf
I see why you wouldn’t want to, but what can you do about it?
You havent paid for the stuff, so the store is free to deny you buisness. You can report them to Mastercard but they will probably rather not rock the Walmart boat than stand by you. You can refuse to use Mastercard but then Walmart couldnt give a damn.
The Wal-Mart down the street from me claims that the register asks for an ID at random, but that their policy is to ask for ID on all credit/debit purchases regardless of the total due. Most cashiers don’t ask, and the ones that do only seem to do so if it’s a high balance, the moon is full, it’s the 13th and I look at them funny at three in the morning, which is when I usually do my grocery shopping.
This might take the cake as the dumbest Consumerist post of all time. They asked for ID on a high-value (>$25) credit card purchase. OMG!
The indignity! The rudeness! The shameless attempt to protect the cardholder from fraud! How DARE Walmart!
The only thing worse than this is the inevitable post to come where Consumerist complains about a store that DIDN’T ask for ID when somebody’s card is used for fraud.
Oh wait. They’ve probably had those posts already.
It’s against their agreement.
$25 is high value? What? I don’t even want to tell you what my bus pass costs, you’ll think i’m loaded.
Walmarts registers tell the cashier when to ask for ID – wait for it – PER THE CC COMPANIES PARAMETERS.
1. The Walmart associate NEVER touches your card unless the debit reader is broken. You swipe it yourself.
2. They don’t swipe your ID either, so unless they have some amazing photographic memory the are not stealing anything.
3. Walmarts servers communicate IMMEDIATELY with the CC company and the CC company returns the flag to verify ID. So it’s not Walmart asking for ID it’s your CC company. So it’s not really random. But a Walmart associate won’t ask for ID unless the register tells them to. So YES they DO have the right to refuse you a purchase if you refuse to show it.
And for all you asshats saying just walk away and leave all your food, you realize you are not hurting Walmart in the least right? That food gets claimed out by Walmart and is either returned to the supplier for credit, or written off and they get their money back as a tax right off. So go ahead, walk away and leave that food their, Walmart does not really care.
When I was an Asset Protection officer for Walmart I had to deal with 7 different instances of someone walking in the store and buying $100′s of dollars worth of merchandise with a stolen card. EVERY time the questions was asked “Why did the cashier not check ID?”
No, you’re actually–wait for it–wrong! On several occasions, I’ve had the request for ID made AFTER the credit card went through and the transaction was accepted, including the occasion I posted here earlier, when the cashier told me that “the computer told him” he had to check my ID, and upon reading the screen saw that it said something along the lines of “check signature on CARD”–which pretty clearly means the CREDIT CARD, which of course they’re supposed to do anyway.
I am talking about Walmart – not ALL retailers. Walmarts registers prompts after the card is processed but before the transaction is complete because the determination to prompt for ID check is made by the credit card companies.
I helped install the system, I know how it works.
You know, I hope this ends up like the minimum purchase requirement thing. Consumerist never that one go, either. and we saw what happened with that
It’s fine that you wish to show your id. But can you people at least not accuse others who don’t of imaginary hypocrisy?
I visited a Fry’s in Arlington soon after having read the consumerist, so when the cashier politely asked to see my id for my $100 purchase I replied with a “No thank you” and a head shake. He looked closer at the card, and said, “Oh I see it’s signed.”, and completed the sale. Properly trained employee ruined my little adrenaline dump.
Give me a freakin break. I prefer they ask for ID, in case someday my credit card is actually lost/stolen and someone else tries to use it.
The signature on the back means nothing IMO. Like that can’t be washed or swapped out with a new signature sticker?
Every once in a while, they ask to see your ID.
No biggie, really.
I figured they just do it randomly.
Let’s put it this way. You’d all be bitching if someone stole your card, spent $500 at WalMart, and got away with it because the cashier didn’t ask for ID. There is no win-win here.
Would I? No, I wouldn’t, because I’m not ignorant. I would be calling my credit card company or bank and contesting the charge. Like I’m supposed to. Because I know what the terms of my credit card are.
I have to follow my credit card rules. I expect the places I do business with do too. I don’t expect they get special rights just because they are business owners.
I’m sorry but when I am the guy behind you in line and you are holding me up because you don’t want to show your ID, then I get ticked. Why argue for 10 minutes when it only takes 2 seconds to show your ID? Some of you must really live in a state of paranoia if you think your identity is going to be stolen from showing your ID. I’m willing to bet you that you are more likely to have your identity stolen from making internet purchases as oppose to showing your ID. Just show your ID.
Holy crap there are a lot of paranoid people in our country! Don’t forget to always carry your concealed weapon.
Gawd. So many people in this thread are crying about identity theft! What kind of clerk is going to remember all the information from your license from a quick glance over? Is Rainman working at Wal*Mart now?
If you’re so so so worried about identity theft put a freeze on your credit report! I’ve done it both times that my credit card was stolen. I only wish that the clerks at the stores where my stolen ccs were taken to had asked for ID! I wouldn’t have had to go through days worth of fraud reports and worry that maybe the banks would decide that my cards hadn’t been stolen after all.
Once you’ve had your identity stolen (twice, like I have) you are actually semi-relieved when asked for ID on a major credit card purchase. If more stores had done that, I wouldn’t have had the ID theft issues I did.
Wow….they make sure that some unknown isn’t using your card and they bitch and whine. Its these types of people that are likely to scream “Invasion of Privacy” and then turn around and whine when no laws are intact to protect them from fraudulent use.
I hope someone steals their credit card and racks up tons of charges and THEN watch them change their tune.
Big f– deal. The credit card companies tell you to report these incidents to the banks and the banks don’t do a damned thing about it.
I was refused a $5 purchase from Salvation Army because I refused to show ID. The manager didn’t care if they were in violation of the merchant rules. He told me to go ahead and report it.
You know why? Because they know the credit card companies and/or the banks won’t do anything.
Seriously at least in this state nearly half my retail credit card purchases, even as small as $5 or $20, demand ID. Store policy, always. Violation of credit card rules, no one cares. Never mind that I routinely pay $50-60 restaurant bills without needing to show ID, ever, and never mind my online purchases.
Doesn’t help that my friends always carp at me for refusing to show ID and holding things up and thereby being a nuisance. Why can’t I just abandon my silly principles and be a compliant sheep like everyone else and not cause inconvenience or embarassment?
Might as well, though, because no one cares.
Ugh. Not this argument again.
Correct me if I’m wrong here but I thought that credit card companies were supposed to start putting photo ids’s on some cards to prevent this stuff?
Look…
They ask for id’s for checks because if they bounce they have to be reported back
Granted credit cards don’t bounce but what’s to prevent someone from having their credit card stolen? If your credit card was stolen and the person that did it looked NOTHING like you wouldn’t it make more sense to at least ask for id ?
As for the “merchant agreement” retailers don’t exactly instruct their employees on credit cards since to them they are nearly all the same. Heck I can tell usually if I see a number as to what type it is…all discover numbers I believe start with 6001, visa starts with 4′s, sears are odd because it’s not 16 numbers…
Although I will say it is a bit odd the more we apply the argument. There’s no id check for say online purchases…then again if there is something way out there (say someone that lives in boston for x number of years and that’s where the shipping goes) and all of a sudden there’s an order in LA. BTW if you go overseas you should always tell the card company.
I have three problems with cashiers that ask me for my ID.
1. Mastercard says you can’t. That should be the end of the issue.
2. I don’t take an ID everywhere I go. Usually they want to see a driver’s license. Why would I have it when I’m shopping? I only need it when I’m driving.
Biggest one:
3. When I got married, I called my bank to find out what they needed to update my info. Surprisingly, they didn’t need anything. They immediately sent me a new card with my new last name. I wrote SEE ID on it. For six months, I was lazy about updating my driver’s license. I handed over my driver’s license at every place that asked, and for 6 months not a single place noticed the names didn’t match. After I updated my DL I stopped offering it and got a new card and signed the back. This practice of asking for ID seems to serve absolutely NO PURPOSE. What are they comparing? I’ve never seen a cashier actually make sure the names match and photo matches me.
I might show it, but it isn’t leaving my wallet.
OMG why do people get so upset over THIS kind of thing? I would prefer they ask for ID in case my card was stolen. duh.
Can I borrow the credit card then? Since she doesn’t want to show ID, I guess she doesn’t care if other people don’t use her card…its not hard to forge a signature close enough for a retail clerk to accept it.
What’s next, having to show your ID for using cash for purchases over $100? Would all those people who do not seem to have a problem presenting their ID everytime you use your credit card (even though the retailer has signed and agreed to the credit card company’s Merchant Agreement which explcitily prohibits merchants from asking for ID), have a problem if they were requireed to show ID when they forked over a $100 plus dollars in cash? Or if they were asked how they obtained $500 to pay for their TV? How about the fact that this will only create a slower checkout environment when people have to dig out their IDs for the first, second and third times?
Here is novel approach – why doesn’t Wal-Mart just follow what the terms of the Merchant Agreement that they signed?