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Overview
Shopping online requires that individuals have either a credit card, debit card or bank account to make a purchase. It is understandable that individuals are uneasy about revealing this information to a retailer online. To help protect themselves, consumers can purchase prepaid virtual credit cards. These cards are not actual credit cards, but instead an account number with an amount of money in that account for individuals to use for online purchases. These prepaid virtual credit cards do not have credit lines associated with the cards, and do not require monthly payments.
Significance
Prepaid virtual credit cards are a shopping device that is used for shopping online. A prepared virtual credit card can be used at any online retailer that accepts credit cards. The company accepting the payment will not know the difference between the credit card being a real physical credit card and one that is a virtual one. Prepaid virtual credit cards can be used up to the amount of money deposited on the prepaid card, but can not be used for purchases above the balance on the prepaid virtual credit card.
Features
Prepaid virtual credit cards feature a numerical sequence of numbers that matches the pattern for actual physical credit cards. Some prepaid virtual credit cards can have funds added to them by the purchaser by making a payment to the virtual credit cards' issuer using either a check or a standard credit card.
Benefits
Virtual prepaid credit cards will not require a credit check for the individuals purchasing them as there is not a line of credit associated with the cards. There also is no interest rate on prepaid virtual credit cards, as the owner of the cards has already paid the amount he wishes to spend to the issuer of the prepaid virtual credit cards. Prepaid virtual credit cards eliminate the risk of online thieves accessing personal information about individuals by stealing their credit card numbers. This is a benefit compared to traditional credit cards or debit cards when they are used online.
Concerns
There is a disadvantage with prepaid virtual credit cards, when compared to traditional credit cards. To receive one of these virtual prepaid credit cards from a vendor, purchasers will have to pay an activation charge. This means that the individuals purchasing the prepaid virtual credit cards will pay more than the amount of money he can use it to make purchases with.
Warning
Prepaid virtual cards do not include any protection if they are stolen. This means if someone steals your prepaid virtual credit card numbers he will have access to the remaining balance on those accounts. Prepaid virtual credit cards also do not have protections. such as purchase dispute abilities, if you receive a faulty product like individuals have with a standard credit cards.
