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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?"
Citibank, Citicard virtual account numbers.
Bank of America ShopSafe
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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/
Cash.
Kid-proof tablet..
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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:
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:
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random