Credit card giant Visa has announced that people will have to use a PIN code when making a credit card payment from April 2013.
From April 1, 2013, all plastic transactions on Visa will be approved by customers using a four-digit personal identification numbers instead of signatures, the company has said.
related: Get a free ride from credit companies
The move is expected to reduce signature-based credit card fraud which has been on the rise over the last two years - from 38 out of 100,000 transactions in 2010 to 52 out of 100,000 transactions in 2011, Fairfax reports.
Latest statistics from the Australian Payments Clearing Association also found in 2011 fraudulent card transactions reached a record $278 million.
Visa spokeswoman Judy Shaw was quoted as saying that the change was part of a big security plan to phase out the use of signatures in favour of PIN and card chips.
"At the moment we're working with financial institutions and other card schemes to discuss a uniform approach to chip and PIN use across the industry," she told Fairfax.
Related: Should you get credit cards for your kids?
The change by Visa will also affect 14,000 cafes and restaurants, where customers will no longer be able to sign their bills at the table.
"By the time this mandate comes in, you're going to have to get up and go to the cashier and make the payment or the cashier armed with a payment terminal has to come to you,” Garry Duursma, vice president at eftpos services company Tyro was quoted as saying.
More handy tips on plastic money and smart banking
