Internet Shopping With a Virtual Credit Card

By Rich Holth

If you want to save money then online shopping is a great way to do it. It's convenient, more so than shopping in person. Wonderful bargains are available to you when you shop online. You no longer need to fight traffic, big crowds, looking for the same bargains. And no more searching for a parking space.However, some people do worry about the security when shopping online. It is necessary for you to submit a credit card number when making a purchase. Giving this information to another person, over the internet cause some people concern.

Never fear. If this does describe you then here is a safer way to shop online. You can use a virtual credit card in place of your regular card. Some large banks, including Discover, Citi and MBNA offer this service to their customers to use in place of their regular plastic credit cards. PayPal is another payment service using virtual payments and is also safe and secure.

Using a virtual credit card can make all the difference in how you feel about the level of security when online shopping. Virtual credit card numbers are random numbers generated by the computer. They are sometimes know as substitute credit cards. And designed to bring an individual peace of mind so they worry less about credit card fraud and identity theft.No extra charge is involved in using a virtual credit card and they protect your real credit card number from fraudulent use.

Each bank or company that offers virtual credit cards uses a slightly different procedure, but the principle behind them is basically the same. Credit card users sign up for the virtual credit card program at their credit card's website, and often download some software from that website. The downloaded software is used to randomly generate the user's substitute credit card numbers. When virtual credit card users are ready to buy online, they enter the virtual credit card number that's generated into the online shop's website, not their real card number. The only people who know the real credit card number is the user and his or her bank or credit card company. The online seller has no access to that information, so there's no possibility of misuse or fraud.

This form of payment, the virtual credit card, can be used to purchase over the telephone or even through the mail. The virtual card can be used for almost any type of shopping, not just online. And any purchase that is in-person purchase is the only time a plastic card is required.

If you're a credit card user that's concerned about credit card fraud or identity theft, consider signing up for a virtual credit card. It's easy, free, and accepted as payment when you're shopping on the internet, on the telephone or through the mail. Taking that step to sign up to use substitute credit card numbers is a very small price to pay for such a large amount of protection and security. - 33374

About the Author:

Sign Up for our Free Newsletter

Enter email address here