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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
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.
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.
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).