I do not command the most legible of handwritings, and my penmanship is steadily evolving (degrading?). This has become a problem with banks, because I cannot reproduce my signature from two years ago. While I am able to do most of my banking through ATM or online, I could not close my unused (but far from empty) Citibank account today. The fact that I do not know my secret number (because I do not use the account) or that the online banking account is locked (because I unsuccessfully tried to guess my secret number a few times) did not help to enhance my credibility either. Now I have to find my copy of the account opening document and practice the old signature.

I had a similar experience last month at Tokyo Mitsubishi Bank when I wanted to let them know my current residence. At that time, they kindly let me see how the signature should look like, so that I could copy it. All of this is making me understand the real value of the name stamps that Japanese people use instead of signatures on legal documents: unfailingly constant output throughout the years.