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PayPal Launches Virtual Debit Card
IpSo_ writes "You can now use PayPal via a Virtual Debit Card when making online purchases anywhere MasterCard is accepted. Basically it generates a virtual card number each time you make a transaction online so you don't have to use your personal debit or credit card number. Will people be more comfortable making online purchases with this, or will it flop because its too much of an inconvenience?"
there's the stanadlone App, or the web-based version - the numbers are one-time use, and can be used anywhere - on or off the net.
why is the rest of the world not keeping up?
2.) Online Buying Clarity: You'll be able to view all charges you make on the internet individually and not have it mixed in with your regular credit card bill.
1.) Privacy: You can use a Credit Card online with it it showing up on your Credit Card Bill. It will be BIG in the online porn world.
-Todd
Put down the sig, and step away from the computer.
The editors really don't look at this stuff, do they?
The link goes to the contents of a pop-up window displaying a FAQ that's intended for the BETA USERS of this service.
"Launched" isn't the word that should be used for the current state.
I don't trust paypal one bit and would be more inclined to get a citibank account to do this. Every person I know who has had a bad transaction has had their account frozen... Terrible customer support also.
Any time someone claims "the security is very real", the bogometer enters the red.
> I missed the demo when I downloaded the PayPal Virtual Debit Card. How can I see it again?
"Downloaded"? You mean this is an application? Bogometer pegged. Spyware sensor into the red.
> How do I use PayPal Virtual Debit Card?
>
> When you are ready to make a purchase on a website that accepts MasterCard, a notifier appears asking if you'd like to pay with PayPal Virtual Debit Card. You can click on the notifier to use PayPal Virtual Debit Card, and you can also always access PayPal Virtual Debit Card from the icons located on your browser's toolbar and system task tray.
Ah, it's not just a separate application, it's an (IE-only, presumably) Browser Helper Object and/or background service. Not only is the bogometer needle is bent, but the spyware sensor is on fire, and I'm reaching for my wallet, where my small fistful of weathered Federal Reserve Notes is looking mighty comfortable right about now.
Even by PayPal's standards, this is looking like a galactic-central-black-hole-through-buckytubes pile of suck.
why is the rest of the world not keeping up?
Because I have very little use for one of these? My credit card already protects me from fraudulent charges and I'm not worried in the least if someone uses it two states away for gas. If Chase makes me call them when I'm going outside of my "home area" so they don't shut me off, then I'm not concerned if someone steals the card number after I make a purchase online at Newegg.
If someone uses the card locally, big deal. I call Chase and tell them that the card was stolen and the charge wasn't mine. Not many questions asked.
For *most* people, they just aren't paranoid enough to use a one time number for their purchases.
How about asking, "Will it finally force PayPal to follow US Federal Law regarding financial institutions, or will it continue to act as with capricious disregard for facts and evidence when there's a payment dispute?"
[
From their QA about the virtual debit card:
Need I say more?
File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
Paypal is not a bank.
Paypal is not a savings and loan.
Paypal is not a retail store.
Paypal is not an insurance company.
Paypal is not a manufacturing company
Paypal is not an exchange of any kind.
Paypal is not a foundation committed to a cause.
What argument could then persuade me to trust them with money that is most certainly NOT virtual?
I'm not someone with a cross to bear. Paypal has never screwed me over, and the idea of paypal is very appealing. However, the practices of Paypal have been and are egregious for very little benefit to the average consumer. Even as a small business owner, the appeal of Paypal as it currently operates is scant.
Just mod me as flamebait, I guess. In the immortal words of Tom Hanks in Big, I don't get it!
There's a huge difference between a credit card and a debit card. A debit card transaction affects the balance of your bank (or paypal) account.
You should *never* use a debit card *anywhere*. Why you might ask? "But they are so popular! Everyone is doing it!"
Just wait until a drunken bartender, rushed register clerk, or malicious waitress adds an extra digit to your transaction and you're suddenly bouncing checks or being charged fees for your overdraft protection.
Yeah, I can see myself signing up to give Paypal access to my credit cards or bank accounts just for the privilege of keeping my credit card number away from untrustworthy, unscrupulous merchants who are out to steal my mon....
Wait a minute. Oh-ho-ho! Nice try, Paypal! You almost got me there. Whew!
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").