of the substitution. US embassies are not financial institutions and do not provide Medallion Signature Guarantees. Some financial institutions outside the United States offer a medallion signature guarantee to existing customers if the financial institution has a correspondence relationship with a United States bank. For example, in Australia there is a FINRA broker dealer called Fortrend that has a medallion stamp because they are the only US Broker Dealer with an Australian home address. History The medallion signature guarantee program has existed since February 24, 1992, when Securities and Exchange Commission's Rule 17 Ad-15 went into effect. The medallion signature guarantee program was implemented in order to protect investors, treat financial institutions equitably, increase the efficiency of transferring securities, and reduce risk. Until then, financial institutions had cumbersome and inconsistent policies regarding certificates presented to a transfer agent to change ownership. At the time of its establishment, there were three signature guarantee programs, namely the New York Stock Exchange Medallion Signature Program, the Stock Exchanges Medallion Program, and the Securities Transfer Agents Medallion Program, each of which were administered by different entities. References Piombino, Alfred E. (2011). Notary Public Handbook: Principles, Practices & Cases. National Edition. East Coast Publishing. "Signature Guarantees: Preventing the Unauthorized Transfer of Securities". United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved November 15, 2013. External links The Medallion Signature Guarantee website includes a directory of firms offering medallion signature guarantees. Securities (finance) Identity documents