PayPal virtual debit card - does it still exist and where do I find it?

[Andy_T]

Hi,

You used to be able to get a one time Virtual Debit Card transaction to pay for goods etc.  I believe it issued a different unique number each time so that you could pay a company online but they would not be able to use it again later to subsequently withdraw more funds without authorisation.  Would be ideal for use with some online sites that you may not fully trust....  where you read on forums that once signed up it is very hard to cancel and they keep taking monthly or weekly charges from you.

Andy.

[PayPal_lucy]

Hey there Andy_T,

This sounds like an eBay gift card. This would be used like any other gift card as in a specific amount is added on to the card and the card is given as a gift.

The only card PayPal currently offers in the UK is the PayPal MasterCard. This is a credit card issued by Santander so it is added to your PayPal account and used like any other credit card.

I hope this helps.

[greeen]

Pretty sure Andy was referring to the Virtual Debit card, not a gift card. I'm wondering the same thing -it doesn't appear to be in the same place I used to find it.

[Andy_T]

Yes it was the virtual debit card I wanted.  I used to have one with my  cahoot   account but they stopped doing it around September 2010.  Others do exist like Entropay but charge for the card and often another 5% to top up.  I heard back from Paypal that their card was only offered in USA as a trial and did not make it to UK. 

So I then found Neteller  (well known on internet betting sites) and they offer a  FREE pre-pay debit card and you get a bit of plastic and once you have this you can sign up for one time virtual debit cards.  You generate the virtual card with a selected amount of funds on it from your neteller account. It gives you a card number plus the 3 digit secure code.  Just go online and type those in to the vendors site and away it goes.  The vendor cant use it again as it had limited funds and is pre-pay NOT a credit card.

My opinion:  Neteller offer a free pre pay card and a virtual pre pay card both topped up from your standard Neteller account.  Both types worked for online purchases over the web.  Your Neteller account is free to top up from your regular banks debit card or by a direct debit from your registered bank account.  Minimum topup amounts apply of about 15 - 20 pound, but of course the debit card can be used for any amount upto what is on the card.  Remainder stays on your account and there is not a non use monthly charge like so many other pre-pay cards have hidden in the small print.  All round a good product.

Problems:  only that it thought my debit card number was a credit card so it applied a small charge for the topup. Got onto their customer services (quickest response was from their facebook page - maybe because the rest of the world can see if they don't respond quickly !!! ) and they re-funded the charge.  Took them about a month before they had added my bank sort code correctly to recognise as a debit card. Now works fine.

So no Paypal card but I do have a virtual card for any of those sites, like gambling, that you may not trust 100%.  I wanted it to pay for a software download site where you pay a monthly fee and I was not sure they would cancel that quickly - using the virtual card they have no option as the number becomes extinct after first use.  No I was not going onto a p**n site but I guess they would be used for that as well.

If paypal did one I would sure sign up for one of theirs but at present they don't.

Cheers,

Andy...