The Truth of Credit

photo by tidbits

This post I can thank my girlfriend for. As always she is shopping for the next perfect pair of shoes or the next Coach purse. However, this time she had left her credit card upstairs. Have no fear, she had signed up for Paypal’s Virtual Credit Card.

What is Paypal Virtual Credit Card?

• A year old service, “PayPal Secure Card” generates a one-use unique Mastercard/Visa number that Paypal users can utilize to make payments on sites that don’t take Paypal directly. The software package with PayPal Secure Card automatically recognizes an e-commerce checkout page and fills out the payment information for the user.
• It’s a great idea; not only does this open up Paypal accounts to shopping on sites that don’t take Paypal directly, it also provides credit card access to people who don’t have a credit card. On the security front it provides an alternative to using your actual credit card online, through a secure way of using your credit card (if linked to your Paypal account) without the risk of your real details being disclosed.

What’s the downside?

• Obviously, this is the Internet and I would not put it past some hackers to decode these transactions at some point. However, I have never known of anyone who keeps a high balance in their Paypal account either so may not be worth the effort.

Personally, I believe this to be a genius service. One of the major concerns, especially from older people, is how unsafe the Internet is and how you can’t trust websites. While this may not prevent fraud, it will add one more hurdle to the process. Maybe, just maybe, some hackers might go home. Would a service like this give you more confidence to shop on the Internet?

Related Post:

• Will There Be a Second Stimulus Check?
• Need Help Paying Your Utility Bills?
• The Importance of Cash Flow.

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