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American Express announced Monday that it will stop requiring a signature for purchases of any amount in April. While other credit card providers have also moved away from requiring signatures, American Express is the first to stop the practice worldwide.

In its announcement, American Express said the move "will help provide a more consistent and simplified checkout experience for merchants and Card Members in regions around the world, speed up the process of paying in store and help reduce merchants' operating expenses associated with retaining signatures."

The company also noted that signatures, which were originally required to help prevent credit card fraud, are no longer needed as the payments industry has advanced with contactless payment options, online commerce and EMV chip technology.

While credit card companies are building better defenses against fraud at point-of-sale, NAFCU continues to urge Congress to adopt a national data security standard that would hold all entities that handle consumers' personal financial information responsible for any breaches that might occur on their end.

American Express had already stopped requiring signatures in the U.S. for purchases of less than $50. Mastercard and Discover also recently announced changes to their signature policy, though the changes are restricted to certain countries. Changes for all companies go into effect in April.