I don't know if anyone else noticed, but this article links to a PC World CANADA Article. Do any of you live in Canada?
FYI, Banks in Canada do not issue Credit Cards to persons under 18? Why? Because they need a credit check, for which permission can only be legally granted by a legal adult (person 18 or over, assuming they're not detached from their parents (you can be independant from your parents @ 16 and then grant the bank this permission) or whatever that legal term was). Want to be sure? E-mail Toronto-Dominion Canada Trust (TD Canada Trust), RBC Royal Bank, Scotia Bank, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Canada (CIBC) or any other Canadian bank and ask. Their websites can be found with Google.
Prepaid credit cards are sold in Canada as gift cards by two small bank companies in B.C., and the service fees are extravagant... not to mention no one has heard of the things. ( Visa and Mastercard think that Interac (see below) removes the necessity for prepaid credit cards. The government seems barely aware of them, since it doesn't recommend them as part of their choosing a credit card pages on their website. ) While it *IS* possible to get a debit card in Canada from a young age, this debit card only comes with the "Interac Direct Payment" service (and maybe access to PLUS in the USA). Until recently, it was impossible to use this online, and even now, with "Interac Online" only a few retailers support the system. Most Canadian retailers (iTunes Canada anyone? How about Canadian Tire? Best Buy? Future Shop?) still want credit cards... not to mention credit card companies are practically the only way to get money outside the country. (Interac is a CANADIAN debit system.)
I know things are different in the USA (prepaid credit cards) and UK (online debit) and other European countries (Swatch/Maestro or whatever), but at least look at the source. In Canada, where we probably have (I think) one of the lowest rates of population per square kilometer, kids can't buy legitimate MP3s online.
And there goes the problem of the Internet - it's world wide. But business isn't. And because laws are different in different countries. For now, anyway.
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I don't know if anyone else noticed, but this article links to a PC World CANADA Article. Do any of you live in Canada?
FYI, Banks in Canada do not issue Credit Cards to persons under 18? Why? Because they need a credit check, for which permission can only be legally granted by a legal adult (person 18 or over, assuming they're not detached from their parents (you can be independant from your parents @ 16 and then grant the bank this permission) or whatever that legal term was). Want to be sure? E-mail Toronto-Dominion Canada Trust (TD Canada Trust), RBC Royal Bank, Scotia Bank, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Canada (CIBC) or any other Canadian bank and ask. Their websites can be found with Google.
Prepaid credit cards are sold in Canada as gift cards by two small bank companies in B.C., and the service fees are extravagant... not to mention no one has heard of the things. ( Visa and Mastercard think that Interac (see below) removes the necessity for prepaid credit cards. The government seems barely aware of them, since it doesn't recommend them as part of their choosing a credit card pages on their website. ) While it *IS* possible to get a debit card in Canada from a young age, this debit card only comes with the "Interac Direct Payment" service (and maybe access to PLUS in the USA). Until recently, it was impossible to use this online, and even now, with "Interac Online" only a few retailers support the system. Most Canadian retailers (iTunes Canada anyone? How about Canadian Tire? Best Buy? Future Shop?) still want credit cards... not to mention credit card companies are practically the only way to get money outside the country. (Interac is a CANADIAN debit system.)
I know things are different in the USA (prepaid credit cards) and UK (online debit) and other European countries (Swatch/Maestro or whatever), but at least look at the source. In Canada, where we probably have (I think) one of the lowest rates of population per square kilometer, kids can't buy legitimate MP3s online.
And there goes the problem of the Internet - it's world wide. But business isn't. And because laws are different in different countries. For now, anyway.