Visa’s non-signature moment; educator takes pot spot; McDonald’s drops foam

A non-signature moment

Visa will stop requiring signatures for purchases made in North America using chip-card technology, a significant win for retailers that could help them cut costs. The San Francisco company said the move will take effect in April at more than 2.5 million locations. Merchants have campaigned for years to ditch signatures because those sales are routed through systems with higher fees, and MasterCard, Discover and American Express already dropped the signature requirement.

He said it

“In education, we are creating memorable and transformational experiences for our students. The best cannabis companies do the same thing for their patients and customers.”

That’s from William Silver, the new CEO at CannaCraft, a fast-growing cannabis cultivation and manufacturing company in Santa Rosa, in an interview with The Chronicle’s GreenState.com. A lifelong academic, Silver served for 10 years as the dean of Sonoma State University’s School of Business and Economics. CannaCraft claims its revenue has doubled every year over its three-year existence.

Hold the foam

McDonald’s will stop using plastic foam cups, which keep drinks icy cold but make environmentalists red hot, by the end of this year. The world’s largest restaurant operator quietly disclosed the decision on its website, along with its plan to use recycled and certified sources for all of its fiber packaging by 2020.