Prepaid Virtual Credit Cards – What are they?
Monday, February 8th, 2010Who among us doesn’t enjoy shopping online? There just isn’t any way to shop that is more convenient. Shopping on the Internet has many perks, but the fear of stolen sensitive personal information, such as credit card numbers, lurks in the back of everyone’s mind. When you use a prepaid virtual credit card you are able to shop online without having to worry about any of that.
What on earth is a prepaid virtual credit card? It works like this. It is prepaid which means you load money onto it in advance. It is virtual which means it isn’t an actual plastic card, just a number.
Some virtual credit cards can be recharged with money, but others just expire when the money loaded onto them runs down to zero. Some banks issue virtual numbers that change each time you use them. You don’t need to use your real credit card numbers when you buy online with a prepaid virtual credit card.
Using prepaid virtual credit cards has many benefits, including increased peace of mind. Your children can buy games and music at Amazon or other online stores with virtual credit cards you give them, but you’ll know they won’t be able to overspend because the cards are preloaded with a fixed balance.
A safety net is built in when you use a prepaid virtual credit card to buy things online. Forced continuity is one of the biggest online scams. In some cases, such as when you sign up for a free trial, a scam company gets your credit card number and continues to bill you month after month. Stopping these continuing charges is very difficult, but a scam company will not be able to do this with a prepaid card.
Of course, the biggest reason for using a prepaid virtual credit card is so you don’t have to use your real credit cards or debit cards online where they are at risk. If someone steals your card numbers, you could have your bank account emptied out or your credit cards maxed out before you know what happened. You may be able to get your money refunded or you may not. Even so, it could take a long time and could even hurt your credit.
You can use a prepaid virtual credit card anywhere you can use an actual, physical credit card. You are issued a number to use when you are making a purchase, and you use it the same way you would use the number on your actual credit card. When you make an online purchase there is essentially no difference between using a virtual credit card and a plastic card. They are extremely easy to use.
When you order a prepaid virtual credit card, consider what you will be likely to buy in the short term. Since you will freely use the number online, and the risk is there for it to get misused, it makes sense to limit the amount you put on the card each time. You can buy as many virtual cards as you want so the lower your balance on each one, the lower your risk of losing very much money.
A virtual credit card puts the fun back into online shopping. You can feel relaxed in knowing your personal details will not be revealed on any of the sites where you shop. You don’t have to worry about out of control spending by yourself or your kids because when the money runs out, the card will no longer be accepted. These cards give you peace of mind.
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