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I'm a young person, new to the professional world such as banking.

At first, I had difficulty maintaining the same signature.

For example, when I opened the bank account, I made different signatures in different documents. The employee didn't say anything, probably didn't want to embarrass me.

Now, I have to sign my credit card, and finally learnt to make the same signature (I didn't care before). Now, the signature in my credit card is different from the signature in the documents. This is only an example.

Please, what are the complications of making different signatures?

Thank you

EasternRiver
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3 Answers3

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How "different" were these signatures?

The purpose of a signature is to provide evidence that you authorized or agreed to something. If the handwriting is recognizably the same, that's what matters most. In practice any signature that you claim is yours is yours; any signature that you claim was forged must be proven to be forged, and any signature that isn't convincing when compared to your past signatures may be refused or bounced back to you for confirmation.

If the style of your signature has changed completely, you should contact banks and put a copy of the new signature on file, as well as making sure it's the one shown on id and credit cards and so on... just as you would if you had changed your name. If it's just a matter of leaving out your middle name or no longer writing "junior", don't worry about it until/unless someone objects.

It is better if your signature is closer to identical every time; that actually matters more than whether it's readable. But everyone is aware that minor variationS will occur. If that's all you're asking about, relax.

keshlam
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I can speak from experience since for many years I have not really had a consistent signature (I am 25.)

I have had it happen to me where I went to the bank to deposit a cheque. I signed the cheque and handed it to the teller. The teller looked at the cheque, at the computer screen, and back for some time.

Then, he gave me a piece of paper and asked me to draw my signature. And voila! The third signature looked sufficiently disparate from the first two that they were all effectively just scribbles.

At this point, the teller asked me for photo ID, which I presented, and since the ID verified my identity all was well.

So yes, having an inconsitent signature can get you into some sticky situations. If I didn't have my ID, I could have been denied service and maybe (this is a longshot) even arrested for fraudulently trying to deposit a cheque!

Solution

Practice your signature thoroughly until you can do it consistently. This takes a few hours a day for a few weeks. Then, you can go to the bank and ask them to update your signature. You write your new signature then and there and from that point on the bank checks against that one.

Community
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Code Whisperer
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As another member stated, there's always another form of ID they can request.

In my opinion, signatures are going away. Even now, the next generation is 50/50 on this. As a school employee, I proctored an exam that required a signature on a fill-in-ovals multiple choice test. 100 students in the room, nearly half those forms had what you'd call printing, not a cursive signature. These were 16-18 year old people. In the US, our grade schools no longer require cursive to be taught. (this may vary by state)

JoeTaxpayer
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