Mastercard and Discover both pointed to similar reasoning and they'll also be discontinuing signature requirements in April of next year. However, while Discover is eliminating signature requirements in the US, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean and Mastercard is ending them in the US and Canada, American Express is ceasing signature requirements globally.

However, though these companies will no long require merchants to collect signatures, those merchants may still choose to do so, and they'll have to if it's required by law in any region. But fewer and fewer transactions require signatures anyway, so for the diminishing number of purchases that still demand them, this move could make checkout times just a tad bit quicker.