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Alternatives To Paypal's Virtual Credit Card Service?

Posted by timothy on from the other-than-giant-stone-discs dept.

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?"

50 of 242 comments (clear)

  1. Look for an option from your credit card company by mysidia · · Score: 5, Informative

    Citibank, Citicard virtual account numbers.

    Bank of America ShopSafe

  2. Discover card by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    Discover Card still offers Secure Online Account Numbers using either a web or desktop app. http://www.discovercard.com/customer-service/security/create-soan.html

    1. Re:Discover card by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Could you get the IT guys to fix the massive error when entering passwords?

      My password is at the limit for the discover card website, which I think was 10 or 12 letters, so my discover password is:
      abcdefghijkl.

      Now if I go to the virtual credit card login, which is the flash based entry as long as I start off with abcdefghijkl, it doesn't matter what I enter after that:
      abcdefghijkl938498719823 and it still lets me in.

  3. Re:Look for an option from your credit card compan by dicobalt · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I can vouch for the Citibank virtual numbers, I have been using it for years. It even works with recurring charges for up to 1 year. You specify the max amount to be drawn over the year. Amazon.com sometimes chokes up when using it but I have never had problems anywhere else.

  4. Try CitiVAN by bauzeau · · Score: 4, Informative

    Citibank offers a "Virtual Account Number" service for their credit cards (Mastercard). It works fairly well. You can do one-shot purchases, or recurring purchases with the same merchant only, or even cap the total you're willing to spend via a virtual number over a number of months.

    They have a web interface, but you can also download a Java applet that can generate numbers and fill in purchase forms for you.

  5. Re:Look for an option from your credit card compan by MoeDumb · · Score: 5, Interesting

    And I can vouch for Bank of America's ShopSafe. Have used it for years without a hiccup. Discover Card's equivalent seems a bit harder to navigate for some reason.

    --
    Mod Me Up. You'll make a grown man cry.
  6. A regular bank account? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    I dont know about you but my bank account can create VCC's without me even having a credit card. All I need is the debit card and enough cash to actually create the VCC, and of course internet banking enabled. The VCC gets destroyed in a couple of days like normal and the balance amount goes back into your account. Considering that youngsters are advised against taking credit cards, and I haven't this is almost my only option for online shopping.

    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.

    2. Re:A regular bank account? by tapanitarvainen · · Score: 5, Informative

      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..

      As far as I know that is pretty much a US-only phenomenon. At least in most of Europe, the notion of "positive credit history" is all but unknown, when applying for a loan it doesn't matter if you've ever had a credit card unless you've failed to pay up. In many European countries many people don't have credit cards at all.

    3. Re:A regular bank account? by networkBoy · · Score: 2, Informative

      A cell phone contract will establish history in the US as well.
      Any contractual obligation over time whether pre or post paid (I.e. phone Vs. Car loan) will show up on your credit history. So does renting an apartment, paying facilities (gas, electric, cable, phone, etc.)

      --
      whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
    4. Re:A regular bank account? by phantomfive · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Credit cards are so much better than debit cards for online purchases, or anything really. If someone steals money from your debit card, it is your money that is gone. If someone steals money from your credit card, it is someone else's money that is gone.

      --
      Qxe4
    5. Re:A regular bank account? by Kr3m3Puff · · Score: 2, Informative

      As far as I know that is pretty much a US-only phenomenon. At least in most of Europe, the notion of "positive credit history" is all but unknown, when applying for a loan it doesn't matter if you've ever had a credit card unless you've failed to pay up. In many European countries many people don't have credit cards at all.

      The UK has been starting to introduce a "credit rating" system (thanks to the same companies in the US flogging their wares over here). It isn't as rigorous or specific as the US one and simply rates the risk. It tends to be some financial activity is good (no matter what type) but late payments or defaulted debt is bad. A lot of it has to do with a verifiable history. When I first moved over here from the US, I had a really hard time because I didn't have a previous address. Once I moved about a year in, and had a previous address in the UK, everything got substantially easier. Youth (I think 25) get a high risk rating no matter what.

      In the UK they are card happy (whether it be Debit or Credit) and has moved more and more to a cashless and chequeless society, but I had to remind my partner, who is a Brit, that on our recent holiday to Germany, we needed to carry cash with us and pay for things in cash, because lots and lots of places don't take credit cards and in fact, we found places that do take a card, only take one type of Debit card. Not fun if you aren't prepared.

      --
      D.O.U.O.S.V.A.V.V.M.
    6. Re:A regular bank account? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      No, it doesn't. A cell phone contract may require a credit check, but it will only be reported to the credit bureaus if you do not pay. If you get a cell phone and pay it on time, it'll never show up after the initial credit check, which itself will disappear after two years. Student loans, credit cards, store cards, mortgages, etc, all show up. Get a credit card early, use it once every 1-3 months, pay it off when you do use it, and you'll be building a steady history.

      Another tip: if you get an American Express card, all future cards you get with them will be backdated to your original account start date. This can be super helpful if you need to boost your average credit age.

    7. Re:A regular bank account? by TheEyes · · Score: 2, Interesting

      More to the point, it's the credit card company's money that is gone, so they are a lot more proactive about hunting down fraud. Most banks don't give a flying crap if someone drains your account of $5,000, but if someone charges $100 at a gas station on another person's card the company is quick to nullify the charge. They usually don't even charge to stop payment, unlike the banks who've been getting really creative with fees lately.

    8. Re:A regular bank account? by bazorg · · Score: 2, Informative

      As far as I know that is pretty much a US-only phenomenon. At least in most of Europe, the notion of "positive credit history" is all but unknown

      I live in the UK and confirm what the other guy said. If your credit history shows a blank list, you will not get a normal mortgage.

    9. Re:A regular bank account? by Mr.+Freeman · · Score: 2, Informative

      "If someone steals money from your debit card, it is your money that is gone. If someone steals money from your credit card, it is someone else's money that is gone."

      I'm not convinced that you understand how credit cards work, or for that matter, how money works.

      Doesn't matter if it's your bank or your credit card company, it's YOUR money that's gone. With a debit card the money comes out of your bank, with a credit card the money initially comes from the credit company, who sends you a bill, and you send them money from your bank. In either case you can file paperwork claiming fraud, and in both cases a valid claim of fraud will result in your money being returned. (specific policies vary by company and bank)

      Given the choice, I'd rather deal with a bank than a credit card company. I can walk into my bank and actually talk to someone, can you do that with ANY credit card company? My bank actually wants me to remain a customer, not because I have so much money that it's in their interest to keep me there, but because they actually care about customer service. Any credit card company won't give a flying fuck about you unless you hold one of their super exclusive cards (i.e. Amex Centurion, aka Amex black) that actually cost you roughly two grand per year to have. That's two thousand dollars per year just to hold the card. You're not even eligible for it unless you spend HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of dollars on an Amex gold card. So, yeah, they'll take care of you if you're in the top 0.5% of customers.

      --
      -1 disagree is not a modifier for a reason. -1 troll, flaimbait, redundant, overrated are NOT acceptable substitutes.
    10. Re:A regular bank account? by Cimexus · · Score: 5, Informative

      Indeed. The US system seems bizarre to the rest of the world.

      In the rest of the world, countries either don't even have a credit reporting system, or if they do, it works from the assumption that you start with GOOD credit history, and the only thing that hurts it are previous debts you have defaulted on. I.e. someone that has never had any credit cards or other debt will be able to get a loan just as easily as someone who has had previous debt, but has paid it off on time etc. The idea of 'building' a credit history is un-necessary - just don't default on debts and you will be fine.

      In my country all they do is look at your income, assets, expenses and any records of previous defaults, and make a judgement on that. There is no 'credit score' as such. The US system seems really weird (and unfair!) to me - since I am a person that has never really had any debt and almost never uses credit cards.

    11. Re:A regular bank account? by jareds · · Score: 5, Informative

      I'm not convinced that you understand how credit cards work, or for that matter, how money works.

      And I think you're being willfully obtuse.

      Doesn't matter if it's your bank or your credit card company, it's YOUR money that's gone. With a debit card the money comes out of your bank, with a credit card the money initially comes from the credit company, who sends you a bill, and you send them money from your bank. In either case you can file paperwork claiming fraud, and in both cases a valid claim of fraud will result in your money being returned. (specific policies vary by company and bank)

      When you receive a bill, there is no force of nature causing you to send payment. Here's how it works with a debit card:

      1. Money is stolen via your card, coming immediately from your bank account.
      2. You notice the discrepancy (perhaps because you want to withdraw money you expected to have but don't, in which case it sucks to be you).
      3. You ask the bank to return or restore the money, claiming fraud.
      4. (a) The bank returns the money, or (b) the bank denies the claim.

      In case 4(a), you have no access to the money in the time between 3 and 4(a), which could be 10 business days (two weeks). In 4(b), it is up to you to pursue legal action against the bank.

      Here's how it works with a credit card:

      1. Money is stolen via your card, being paid from the card company's accounts.
      2. You receive a bill including the fraudulent charge (note: the company is asking you for money, rather than vice versa).
      3. You make a claim for fraud.
      4. You send a payment only for the non-fraudulent amounts.
      5. (a) The company accepts your claim, and that's the end of it, or (b) they deny your claim, so you keep getting bills and other collection action.

      In 5(b), it's up to the company to pursue legal action against you, rather than vice versa. In all cases, the money remains in your control at least until the company wins in court. (Of course, you would lose the money with the debit card as well if you lost against the bank in court, but the money would have remained out of your control immediately.)

      The point is clear: your money is gone with a debit card in that you lose actual control of it, and have to ask for it back. The card company's money is gone with a credit card because they have to ask you for it back (perhaps not entirely, if they haven't paid the merchant yet, but that's not your concern).

    12. Re:A regular bank account? by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 3, Informative

      I'm not convinced that you understand how credit cards work, or for that matter, how money works.

      It doesn't take a black card to get good response to fraudulent charges on a credit card because federal banking laws very explicitly define what the banks must do and for once the rules are very favorable to consumers instead of the banks. Meanwhile the only rules governing fraudulent debits are arbitrary ones set up by individual banks and the debit networks. Violating a federal law is a huge deal, the banks don't play around with that -- but breaking their own internal policies, the consequences are practically nil, it puts you at the mercy of someone who might just be in a bad enough mood to take it out on you.

      Furthermore the previous poster is exactly on the mark about it being the bank's money at risk for fraudulent charges and your money for a fraudulent debit. At best you can expect your bank to refund the lost money and any of their internal fees. But if that fraud caused any of your checks to bounce or your automated payments not to go through you are looking at fees from the payees - returned check and late payment fees - and you have no chance of getting your bank to reimburse those fees since they aren't internal and really are whatever the payee wants to set them at.

      No, the only people who should ever use a debit card are the ones who just plain can't qualify for a credit card or are so bad with money that they can't control their spending (and they better be sure not to get so-called "over-draft protection" on those debit accounts because until recently it was impossible to get a debit card without over-draft protection since those over-draft fees are massive cash cows for all banks).

      --
      When information is power, privacy is freedom.
    13. Re:A regular bank account? by CrashandDie · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The UK being the big exception. I always refer to "mainland Europe" when I talk about the banking industry, considering that the UK (and I expect Ireland, but never checked) is roughly the same as the US when it comes to credit cards.

      When I first arrived to the UK, it took me about 6 months before my bank (HSBC) trusted me with a credit card. I was making in excess of 30k GBP a year (first job), and never had any overdraft. I did have a whole lot of working expenses (consultant, so travelling around the world), hence I really had to juggle.

      Then when my CC came, I was in heaven. I could sweat out a couple of grand on travel, hotels and other expenses if required, and not worry about paying extra. Having on average a small month to repay it meant I could do my expenses with relative ease of mind, and never pay interest.

      I still have about 8 credit cards (even though I don't live in the UK anymore, they never shut down the accounts), and I've only had to pay interest twice. Once because in Australia the UK debit cards don't work in all ATMs (and neither do they work in most shops), and I had to take out some cash (which means automatic and immediate interests), and once because I bought an expensive bike, and I made the conscious decision to pay it off in 2 months.

      Why do I have so many cards? Because in the UK, they're free. Everyone and their brother will give you a credit card if you have a good history (and mine is pretty good now). I have one for food, one for vehicle expenses, one for eating out, one for travel, two for company expenses, etc. This allows me to get the bills and just put them in folders easily. I don't have to go over one big bill, just a handful of small bills that are all very specific.

      As with everything, if you're smart about it, credit cards can be extremely helpful. You just need to put a few sliding appointments in your agenda (28 days, if you're lucky your wife or girlfriend can remind you to pay the bills when she gets cranky) and pay on time. Also, don't spend more than you earn, and budget, budget, budget.

      Don't buy something on impulse. Research it, spend 10 minutes on the internet to understand if it's a good buy, what is the next best item (even if it's more expensive, just to get a feeling of the price gap), etc. Most people can live a very healthy and luxurious life if they just think about money, rather than putting their head in the sand.

      Added bonus? If shit hits the fan, I've got about 40 grand worth of credit card I can use. That, plus the savings I have.

    14. Re:A regular bank account? by butlerm · · Score: 2, Informative

      "In the US, Federal law limits you to $50 in exposure to theft of a credit card. With debit cards you are at the mercy of your bank, so I'm glad you are comfortable with yours"

      Both Visa and Mastercard have a zero liability policy for unauthorized use of your card, provided you report a lost card within 24 hours. The only difference with a debit card is that you have to wait for your money to be returned to you, because it was taken directly from your account.

  7. Re:Look for an option from your credit card compan by ls671 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I opened an 'active virtual account number' valid for an unlimited time and unlimited amount and also valid with an unlimited number of merchants and it is the only one I use all the time ;-)

    --
    Everything I write is lies, read between the lines.
  8. Orbiscom has the patent by Distan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The general patent to do virtual credit card numbers is held by Orbiscom. They are the provider of most of the Credit Card vendor's solutions: Citi, Discover, BoA, etc.

    http://www.orbiscom.com/

    1. Re:Orbiscom has the patent by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 3, Informative

      Well, for one thing, Mastercard recently bought Orbiscom. Mastercard sees paypal as a competitor. Since all disposable credit card numbers (including disposable VISA numbers) are handled through Orbiscom's systems Mastercard may have made it prohibitively expensive for Paypal to do business that way.

      --
      When information is power, privacy is freedom.
  9. Entropay by DamonHD · · Score: 2, Interesting

    See https://www.entropay.com/

    Disclaimer: I'm biased as I was one of the founders!

    Rgds

    Damon

    --
    http://m.earth.org.uk/
    1. Re:Entropay by ygslash · · Score: 2, Interesting

      See https://www.entropay.com/
      Disclaimer: I'm biased as I was one of the founders!

      This looks like a great service - the best that I've seen in this topic, among those that don't require an existing account at a specific bank.

      Here are several other pre-paid card services that are designed for youth accounts, but can be used as a plain pre-paid card as well:

    2. Re:Entropay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      4.95% charge to deposit? $8--9 to get it back.? Do you use computers or have guys with green eye shades?

    3. Re:Entropay by sco08y · · Score: 2, Informative

      That's considerably less than the loading some credit-card acquirers gouge their merchants for, by comparison, and which you probably never see.

      When other people do it it's "gouging," but your motives are purer than the driven snow.

      Color me skeptical. I understand that handling money safely is expensive, and I don't begrudge people making a living off it.

      But the 5% has nothing to do with how much merchants have to pay. They're still going to pay fees to their acquirer with your card. If you were selling a regular credit card, you'd charge interest to your customers.

      And, yes, customer support and financial security are expensive. You live in a highly regulated country, yet with all those regulations, you have about the same problems with fraud as here. You also have to provide more benefits and pay more income taxes to your support staff, driving up your costs. Higher taxes and more regulations do make goods and services more expensive, and that helps explain why you charge 5% while banks fund similar services by reinvesting deposits.

      Having said that, the numbers may be changing if Paypal is canceling this service.

  10. I would like to pose another question by mysidia · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Is there a way you can get a virtual account number with multiple physical cards issued against the same CC account?

    Of course, optimally would be a physical card that changes its own magstripe, based on you typing a code and a mnemonic identifying the vendor.

    Online shopping may be risky... However, offline shopping can involve the same risks.

    Old fashioned physical theft by employees is a real possibility, especially in restaurants where your physical CC leaves your sight. While the cashier is behind the counter, you have no idea they are running your card through a hidden skimmer.

    Also, big companies store CC information in their computer systems nowadays, just like online stores do.

    Virtual account numbers are nice, and solve one problem, but they aren't comprehensive.

    Especially if you use the physical CC associated with the same account you have virtual numbers against. If your physical CC gets lost, the thief can make unlimited charges against your entire account, and when you get it cancelled, suddenly you can't use your virtual accounts based on that card anymore either......

    So are there more comprehensive solutions? :)

  11. Re:Look for an option from your credit card compan by adolf · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wish they could offer the same thing for in-person [...]. I really don't like having to hand over my credit card to strangers. Perhaps one day security technology will catch up. Anybody could easily come up with a half-dozen ways to improve security in the process. Sure there are obstacles for implementation, but they're far from insurmountable. It seems like the risks and occurrences have to get worse before they get better.

    Cash.

    --
    Kid-proof tablet..
  12. Will never deal with Paypal by syousef · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I've had what I consider a very bad experience with Paypal and now I only use them begrudgingly if I have no other alternative. I consider their assurances technically accurate but due to their execution to be of no use whatsoever to me. So I treat all transactions put through Paypal as high risk "might not get what you pay for" transactions. If I were looking for a credit card, I'd rather poke out both my eyes than get one with that company. I don't think I'm alone.

    --
    These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
    1. Re:Will never deal with Paypal by iamhassi · · Score: 3, Interesting

      "I've had what I consider a very bad experience with Paypal and now I only use them begrudgingly if I have no other alternative."

      I've had more "very bad experiences" with Paypal than you can shake a stick at, watching them steal thousands of my dollars over the years using various excuses, and of course they won't provide any evidence as to why I owed them the money. Unfortunately I still use them because they are the only ones. They have the easiest website integration, thousands of programmers know how to setup advanced shopping carts and customers trust them. There's nothing I can do.

      I seriously considered google shopping cart but apparently there's just as many complaints again them and there's no 800 number for customer service, everything is by email.

      If anyone knows an alternative to Paypal that customers trust please let me know.

      --
      my karma will be here long after I'm gone
    2. Re:Will never deal with Paypal by Zemran · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I find Paypal completely unusable as they freeze my account every time I use it. I am always traveling (currently in Kazakhstan) and each time I access the account they see my access as unauthorised because I am in a different country and they freeze my account until I re-authorise it by jumping through a series of hoops. I have spoken to people and complained but they are unable to see my moving around as normal for me. One time, whilst in Azerbaijan, I transferred some money from my bank account to pay for something and they froze the account with my money trapped in the Paypal account and I had to wait until I returned home (several months later) to release the money as they wanted me to be able to check the amount of a couple of payments they make into my bank account. I felt like they had stolen from me. How many unauthorised users pay money into the account? I could not use my money to pay for what I wanted to buy and had to use an actual credit card. Now I just accept that they are rubbish and I have to use actual credit cards.

      --
      I love stacking my barbecues in the shed at the end of summer - you can't beat a bit of grill on grill action.
    3. Re:Will never deal with Paypal by iammani · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Amazon Payments is a good alternative. Google (as in Google Checkout) has always have had customer service problems, but in terms of easy of web integration and shopping cart setup, I would rank them pretty much on par with paypal.

    4. Re:Will never deal with Paypal by thegarbz · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well duh - set up a socks proxy to a server in a friendly country.

      Are you actually saying that your solution to a rubbish company is to use stupid workarounds so you can keep using that company? I ... simply don't know what to say to that.

    5. Re:Will never deal with Paypal by smallfries · · Score: 3, Informative

      There are only two kinds of people:

      • Those who have had a bad experience with Paypal and stopped using them.
      • Those who haven't had that experience yet.

      For me it was a refund over a graphics card from ebay that was dead on arrival. They lied to me about the refund process until the card was returned to the seller and then once it was posted switched their line and insisted that they would never have agreed to a refund. I never used them again.

      --
      Slashdot: where don knuth is an idiot because he cant grasp the awesome power of php
    6. Re:Will never deal with Paypal by shadowofwind · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You could try contacting your state attourney general. Paypal gave our money back ($1200) when the Ohio attourney general inquired on our behalf. The Washington attourney general seemed interested also, calling us a couple of times, and it appeared likely they would have done something if Ohio hadn't first.

    7. Re:Will never deal with Paypal by iamhassi · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I've never heard of them and I doubt my customers have either.

      I see from their website that they offer a online payment gateway which is nice but I actually don't want customers to enter credit cards on my website.

      I know that sounds strange, but the reason is no one trusts the internet unless you're Walmart.com, Amazon.com, etc. If you're JackAndJillsStore.com they're not going to want to put their credit card number on your website no matter what great price or product you offer. By using Paypal or Google Checkout or Amazon Payments I'm sending the customers to a website they do trust and they are familiar with and they will give them their credit card number.

      --
      my karma will be here long after I'm gone
  13. Re:Not dead by butlerm · · Score: 2, Informative

    It is not dead yet, but it will be. Paypal has announced they will be discontinuing service after September 22, 2010. Check out the link.

  14. [USA only] by krischik · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well, this looks like USA only products. Paypal services are world wide.

    1. Re:[USA only] by mysidia · · Score: 2, Informative

      Paypal is worldwide, but as far as I know, when this particular service operated, the option to use this particular service, virtual debit card was only shown on PayPal's US website to US customers...

    2. Re:[USA only] by laederkeps · · Score: 5, Informative

      Swedbank (Sweden) offers customers an unlimited number of virtual Visa cards with a given maximum amount and expiration date. They are debit cards tied to the same account as your real plastic card.

  15. Virtual Visa by tru3ntropy · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I use virtual visa card http://www.virtualvcard.com.au/home.aspx dont know if it works in America but it was the only thing i could find at the time. Instead of giving you a one time card number it allows you you to deactivate and reactive the number any time.

    --
    In Google we trust.
  16. Re:Look for an option from your credit card compan by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 3, Informative

    Shopsafe works great, I use it any time I am buying from a small merchant (Newegg and the like I order enough they get to have the real number). It creates the numbers in real time so you just log in to the bank as you are going to check out and make a new number, or add money to a number.

    Discover has the same kind of thing, though I've not used it. Looks like the same idea though.

    Seems to be getting to be fairly common with banks.

  17. Neteller by _Shad0w_ · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I use NETELLER for times I need to use a card to buy stuff on the net, which is usually when they don't accept PayPal.

    --

    Yeah, I had a sig once; I got bored of it.

  18. Portugal's MBNet by Sodki · · Score: 3, Informative

    Virtual every debit and credit card in Portugal can have access to MBNet, a nationwide initiative in which you can have your one time credit card numbers.

    We actually have a pretty accessible banking system here in Portugal. We have a state regulated entity called SIBS that pretty much guarantees that every banking system should be able to talk to the others. In practive, this means that every bank has at least one ATM that is compatible with every debit and credit card in the country, and can be used for free, with no taxes for money withdrawal and other operations. It's pretty sweet.

  19. Re:Look for an option from your credit card compan by JamesP · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You're right, EXCEPT for the multitude of places that DON'T take cash (as of course I found out the hard way)

    - Hotel rooms
    - Car rental places

    And I mean, not even "ok, can I pay with cash what I owe then you put your hold, whatever, in the CC??" "no."

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    how long until /. fixes commenting on Chrome?
  20. Re:Look for an option from your credit card compan by hedwards · · Score: 3, Informative

    At least in the US, they don't get a choice, they can take your CC number, but once it comes time to pay they are legally required to take cash. Because you typically pay for said services after you've used them they're debts which means that the company is legally obligated to take cash. Paying ahead of time, they can turn down cash, but once it's a debt they don't get a choice in the matter. If cash is what you want to pay with, cash is what they have to accept.

  21. baring prior agreements or notices to the contrary by way2trivial · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://www.ustreas.gov/education/faq/currency/legal-tender.shtml

    Q? I thought that United States currency was legal tender for all debts. Some businesses or governmental agencies say that they will only accept checks, money orders or credit cards as payment, and others will only accept currency notes in denominations of $20 or smaller. Isn't this illegal?

      The pertinent portion of law that applies to your question is the Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," which states: "United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."

    This statute means that all United States money as identified above are a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy.

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    every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
  22. Epassporte by dindi · · Score: 2, Informative

    Epassporte gives you an ATM card and a Virtual card (not many though, only one). They allow different deposit methods, and are accepted pretty much everywhere.

    Hope this helps