Paying online but keeping my bank/card details safe

[Deleted User]

sarahemmm said:

Deleted_User said:

penners324 said:

Use Chase as they have virtual card numbers if you're that worried.

Virtual card numbers don't help. It's effectively no different than inputting a physical card number.

Revolut offers disposable card numbers - which may be what the OP is looking for.
Faster Payments or Cheque may be other options as you're effectively sending a one off payment. 

Thanks, Penners and Oberoth. My original question was how to make a payment in a safe way where the only option is to give a card number - so bank payment or cheque is not an option. I had vaguely heard of virtual card numbers, but my current cards do not offer them. So again, I am back to my original question - what prepaid card do MSEers recommend?

I have disposable (Visa Debit) cards on my Revolut account. 

[Deleted User]

sarahemmm said:

Deleted_User said:

penners324 said:

Use Chase as they have virtual card numbers if you're that worried.

Virtual card numbers don't help. It's effectively no different than inputting a physical card number.

Revolut offers disposable card numbers - which may be what the OP is looking for.
Faster Payments or Cheque may be other options as you're effectively sending a one off payment. 

Thanks, Penners and Oberoth. My original question was how to make a payment in a safe way where the only option is to give a card number - so bank payment or cheque is not an option. I had vaguely heard of virtual card numbers, but my current cards do not offer them. So again, I am back to my original question - what prepaid card do MSEers recommend?

Virtual card numbers don't themselves offer additional protection over the card number from a physical card. 

[Deleted User]

sarahemmm said:

digital skimming, which can affect PayPal as much as anything. 

Indeed. Which, given that I fully understand the loss of payment cover, means that I am - still - looking for a better option that is NOT my own bank or credit card.

But again, you're talking about a needlessly high level of paranoia about something a) isn't a problem in the real world and b) the banks/firms have to refund you if there is a problem. Tens of billions of pounds are spent annually on credit cards inputted into websites with high levels of security without hiding behind this level of "security" without any sort of fraud issues like you believe is happening. Things like the BA case are very much the exception that proves the rule - you hear so much about it precisely because such fraud is a tiny tiny fraction of a % of financial transactions. The vast majority of financial theft is from low risk crimes like stealing wallets or phishing gullible people, not from entering cards details into secure sites

sarahemmm

Thanks for all the interesting comments.

Does anyone here have experience of Cashplus, Monese or MuchBetter? They all appear to be fee-free (at least near enough for me) and provide prepaid cards for online purchases.

born_again

Deleted_User said:

sarahemmm said:

digital skimming, which can affect PayPal as much as anything. 

Indeed. Which, given that I fully understand the loss of payment cover, means that I am - still - looking for a better option that is NOT my own bank or credit card.

But again, you're talking about a needlessly high level of paranoia about something a) isn't a problem in the real world and b) the banks/firms have to refund you if there is a problem. Tens of billions of pounds are spent annually on credit cards inputted into websites with high levels of security without hiding behind this level of "security" without any sort of fraud issues like you believe is happening. Things like the BA case are very much the exception that proves the rule - you hear so much about it precisely because such fraud is a tiny tiny fraction of a % of financial transactions. The vast majority of financial theft is from low risk crimes like stealing wallets or phishing gullible people, not from entering cards details into secure sites

The amount of fraud on these cards was very small. Due to many people cancelling their cards & also banks stepping up security on cards that were known to have been used at BA in that period.
We also used to get lists of compromised cards from police, visa etc on a regular basis & have to call people to stop cards. Thankfully that all stopped as it is now automated & security systems take care of it now.

JohnnyB70

Deleted_User said:

penners324 said:

Use Chase as they have virtual card numbers if you're that worried.

Virtual card numbers don't help. It's effectively no different than inputting a physical card number.

Revolut offers disposable card numbers - which may be what the OP is looking for.
Faster Payments or Cheque may be other options as you're effectively sending a one off payment. 

I use these sometimes. It seems strange to me that they have enough spare numbers floating around to let me use one each time I’m unsure of a seller.

Spaceace

Would using Apple Pay or Google Pay be a solution to keeping the credit card details private while maintaining S75 rights?

sarahemmm

Well, thanks for all the input - your concerns appear to be very different from mine. I have applied for a monese basic account, which is £9.95 upfront and then free at the level I need.