Why I use virtual cards for online purchases – and you should too
ZDNETBuying stuff online can be a risky proposition. Sure, the big vendors do their best to make you feel safe, but what if you have to give up your credit card digits to a vendor you don’t know?As it turns out, there’s a type of financial instrument — called a virtual card — that can help. A virtual debit card can be turned on and off, spending limits can be set, and create unique card numbers created. Also: 10 common dangers VPNs won’t protect you from online – and how to avoid themNot only will a virtual card come in handy when shopping at unfamiliar online merchants, but you can also use it for those free trials that renew automatically — and can be difficult to cancel. Use a virtual card, allow it to have one charge, and then it shuts down. No unfair renewals. Similarly, you can use it to prevent overcharges on subscriptions. Set a maximum limit, and you won’t suddenly find yourself with a huge bill you must dispute.I use a service that enables me to limit how my card is charged without my express permission. Privacy.com lets me limit the amount that can be spent on any card I create, limit how many times a card can be used, and more. Let’s discuss how to get started, how the process works, and the benefits you get from Privacy.com. Getting started with Privacy.com To get started, point your browser to Privacy.com. Note: Privacy asks you for some personal information, including your name, residential address, date of birth, and possibly a copy of your driver’s license. They may also request other documents.Why? The company explains its reasoning for these fairly intrusive requests:To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person who opens a Privacy Account. You’ll also need to set up a funding source. This is the account from which Privacy will pull your money in order to pay it out to the vendor you’re paying. Remember that although Privacy will issue you credit card numbers, it does not provide credit. Everything you pay using Privacy will be removed from your bank account directly or via a debit card linked to your bank account.Those are your two funding source possibilities: a personal bank account or its associated debit card. Privacy — at least the free version — will not work with a business bank account. You’ll be asked for a funding source when you first create your Privacy account. If you later want to change sources, go to the Account menu item under the little head icon in the upper-right corner of the page.You can have multiple bank accounts as funding sources, but you can’t have multiple debit cards, and you can’t have both a bank account and a debit card.It’s been a while, but I recall it taking a few days after I signed up for Privacy to fully enable my account. So, if you plan on using this service, don’t wait until the last minute when you really need it. More
