PayPal Launches Virtual Debit Card

IpSo_ writes "You can now use PayPal via a Virtual Debit Card when making online purchases anywhere MasterCard is accepted. Basically it generates a virtual card number each time you make a transaction online so you don't have to use your personal debit or credit card number. Will people be more comfortable making online purchases with this, or will it flop because its too much of an inconvenience?"

Discover have been generating numbers for years...

[mdaitc]

Discover Card have been generating numbers for years...

there's the stanadlone App, or the web-based version - the numbers are one-time use, and can be used anywhere - on or off the net.

why is the rest of the world not keeping up?

"Article" is a pop-up window

[Anonymous Coward]

The editors really don't look at this stuff, do they?

The link goes to the contents of a pop-up window displaying a FAQ that's intended for the BETA USERS of this service.

"Launched" isn't the word that should be used for the current state.

Re:Citibank has had this for years

[chimpo13]

Google Pay is way nicer than Pay Pal, only eBay recognizes that, and won't let you use Google Pay on eBay. They're not charging a fee until Jan 2008.

Just don't try to use Google to register a domain name. They haven't worked out the details with GoDaddy and the domain I bought as an Xmas present for a friend of mine is in limbo. GoDaddy says it's a Google problem and there's no way me or any of the supervisors at GoDaddy can get in touch with anyone at Google. Argh.

Re:This is a GREAT idea.

[ShaunC]

You can't use your PayPal account directly to subscribe to (or receive funds for) adult websites, but your PayPal debit card is just a regular Mastercard, as far as purchases go.

Liability?

[rhainman]

What happens if you are a victim of a fraudulent purchase and you need to do a chargeback? Is it even possible? I assume it's harder to do because the money has already been paid in full from your own personal account and not from the card issuer's account.

If you ever contacted PayPal you know the answer

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's how PayPal responded (after 3 business days) to my question about one of my transactions. It took me three (3) tries to get a real answer out of them, which was basically: "You'll have to contact the seller".

I will never use PayPal for anything other than cheap crap (less than $100) I buy occasionally on ebay.

Dear A.C.,

Due to an increase in seasonal email volumes, we may not have been able to
answer your email.

If your inquiry has not been resolved or you have further questions
regarding your PayPal account please call 1-402-938-3531.

Thank you for choosing PayPal!

Re:Citibank has had this for years

[AKAImBatman]

Too bad CitiBank was bought out by Bank of America. When that happened, for a while the website didn't work at all - which meant I wasn't able to pay my bills online (and customer service wouldn't do squat to help me out, since my information somehow disappeared during the migration); now they have resorted to some lame iframing around the original site so they can brand it with BoA's logo.

I think you're confusing Citibank [wikipedia.org] with MBNA [wikipedia.org]. I agree that the MBNA/BoA merger was less than stellar. But that's par for the course with BoA as they've always been the first to drop the ball. (IMHO) Citibank will be bought out by Bank of America shortly after the reanimated corpse of Hitler resumes a successful Blitzkrieg against Europe. (i.e. Not gonna happen)

Re:Discover have been generating numbers for years

[pushf popf]

why is the rest of the world not keeping up? Because I have very little use for one of these? My credit card already protects me from fraudulent charges and I'm not worried in the least if someone uses it two states away for gas. If Chase makes me call them when I'm going outside of my "home area" so they don't shut me off, then I'm not concerned if someone steals the card number after I make a purchase online at Newegg. If someone uses the card locally, big deal. I call Chase and tell them that the card was stolen and the charge wasn't mine. Not many questions asked. For *most* people, they just aren't paranoid enough to use a one time number for their purchases.

I wouldn't leave home wihout it (through B of A) When I pay for something online with a virtual CC, I can turn it off at any time. So when it comes time to cancel a service that's been billing me for a while, I first turn off the credit card number, then cancel the service.

They can go pound salt if they want any "early termination fees", or plan on charging me for another six months due to "billing problems"

You can't do that with a real CC number.

Re:Paypal itself is virtual

[tsstahl]

I see. So, not only is Paypal immune to US banking law, they are free of international monetary regulation.

I would agree that in the example you cited, Paypal was the best choice.

The determination of quality in any operation is not delivering the product when everything goes as planned. Quality is demonstrated when transactions fall outside of normal parameters. Paypal has failed by most reasonable standards when it comes to handling...reverse transactions for lack of a better term.

I suppose you could argue that Paypal does so well at settling international transactions because of their capricious use of their control over your funds.

I'll freely stipulate that Paypal is useful when everything proceeds normally. The threat/chilling effect/risk of Paypal doing Bad Things to me still outweighs their usefulness in my mind. I am sincerely glad that a lot of people find Paypal useful because, as I said in the parent post, the idea of a Paypal service is intriguing, useful, and downright needed for the net to continue growing.

Re:No kidding.

[gmack]

I have an easy fix for that. I have a bank account reserved for paypal and paypal NEVER sees my main account. When I want to spend money I transfer it in. When I get money I transfer it out. This way paypal can only touch the money if I want them to.

PrivaCash

[Valdrax]

I want something I can buy in a shop for cash, load up with a pre-paid amount and use online, throwing away when I'm done with it.

This may be what you want. [privacash.com] Look for their non-personalized cards and never reload them as you have to give personal info to do so. I heard about this on a privacy-oriented site, but I've never tried them myself, so I don't know how hard it is to avoid giving personal info.

Re:accountability

[giminy]

Hear hear.

I just filed a paypal dispute (seller "shipped" but I never received anything). The seller never responded to the dispute in the 30 days they had, and paypal ruled thusly:

"We have decided in your favor, however, we were unable to recover any funds
from the seller's account. As stated in the PayPal User Agreement, recovery
of funds associated with a Buyer Complaint cannot be guaranteed."

That sure is some great buyer protection they have. Thank goodness my credit card company is actually a bank, and I can do a chargeback against Paypal :).

Re:Discover have been generating numbers for years

[cwiegand]

Talk to your bank - USBank protects debit cards to the same standard that VISA does for credit cards (which, since USBank debit cards usually double as VISA-network cards, works out well). In fact, a lot of banks these days are stepping up to the plate and saying that they will not hold you accountable for fraudulent charges.

Re:This is a GREAT idea.

[muzthe42nd]

3) Live in another country and want to be able to purchase stuff online without getting a credit card.

I live in the UK, and being a student, don't want a credit card because I'm an idiot when it comes to spending money I don't have (When GTA:San Andreas came out, I had £135 in the bank, and went and spent £150 on a PS2 and the game just to play it). When I want to buy stuff online from the states, my only option is paypal. For sites that don't take paypal, I could use this to generate an American card. Tah dah!

Re:This is a GREAT idea.

[Anonymous Coward]

RE: Prepaid debit cards. From an anonymity standpoint, these seem almost ideal. Assuming you fund them with cash, they should be untraceable. I'm surprised there hasn't been a great hue and cry from US Homeland Security because there's no verifiable name attached to them, no SSAN, no driver's license number.

I'd guess the feds don't like them, but the key words in federal law are "ongoing banking relationship". So as long as they just sell the card and don't allow reloads, they technically don't have an ongoing banking relationship with the customer and therefore don't have to check IDs and all the other stuff the normally applies to bank accounts.