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Alternatives To Paypal's Virtual Credit Card Service?

An anonymous reader writes "Paypal has quietly killed the Paypal plugin and the related virtual-card service. The service generated on-the-fly, one-time-use credit card numbers. When I called in and inquired about the service, I was told that the service has been discontinued, but may be relaunching something similar depending on interest. They are treating inquiries as a sort of petition, taking down names and contact info. The forums seem to be a lost cause, as no Paypal reps have replied to the numerous posts regarding virtual cards being discontinued. Does anyone know of a good alternative source of one-time-use credit card numbers?"

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  1. Re:A regular bank account? by mysidia · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The advise to youngsters against taking credit cards is flawwed. Because of how the current financial industry and credit reporting works.

    If you never get a credit card or loan of any type, you will not have a credit history. This will be very bad later, when you need to apply for credit or a loan, you will be denied, or require a cosigner, and pay a much higher interest rate..

    Unless the youngster is going to be independently wealthy, and never need to borrow money for the rest of their lives (Going to buy your house outright with cash, going to buy all your cars outright with cash, no mortgages, no loans), the sooner you start a credit history, and the higher quality the history you establish, the better (more financially beneficial) terms you will be able to negotiate in the future, when you need a loan.

    I would suggest any youngster get at least one credit card, but be very careful and judicious in the management of it.

    Even if that means you get a debit card, and leave the credit card locked away in a safe, and only use it once a month.

    For the most part, it's beneficial for just about anyone to have at least one CC.