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One trick I have used to overcome this is to use a virtual card service. If you have a Capital One card, you get this for free (download "Capital One Eno" exten

One trick I have used to overcome this is to use a virtual card service. If you have a Capital One card, you get this for free (download "Capital One Eno" extension), but there is also Privacy.com which does the same thing linked to any bank account. So when someone needs a credit card, I will generate a virtual card (right inside the browser plugin, its really slick and easy) for that website. They will verify the card, and then I can go and deactivate that card. At least with Capital One you can keep the virtual card open, but just deactivated so it declines if they try to charge it. If you ever decide you want them to charge you then you go flip the switch and the card number works again for that site. I generate a different virtual card for every online subscription. This allows you to get around the credit card wall, without fear of them actually being able to charge the card. I also use this trick for any annual membership type things. I will put in a virtual card number to pay the annual fee, then after they charge the fee I will deactivate that virtual card (but not delete it). Now if a year from now they charge the card without warning me, it will decline. They usually send you an email saying it declined, at which point you can either leave that card deactivated and you now easily cancelled the service, or you want to keep the service you can go and activate that card back up and the next time they try to charge the card again (usually 48 hours later or so) it will go through. If anyone knows of other ways to create virtual cards, please let me know. I am currently using Capital One's virtual cards because 1) it is free if you have a Capital One credit card, 2) it allows unlimited virtual cards, 3) their browser extension is actually really slick at auto-generating cards and filling in the card numbers for you. I have looked into Privacy.com which actually offers a lot more granular control over your virtual cards. But you have to pay monthly for the service and get a limited number of cards, so I stick with Capital One. I have a Capital One card that I don't use for anything other than online subscriptions and virtual cards. But I would love to know if there are other options out there that I could consider.

judge2020 6y ago
> If anyone knows of other ways to create virtual cards, please let me know. privacy.com (https://privacy.com https://privacy.com, or If you want to use a referral, privacy.com/join/NPNDJ ) is also free and works across any bank/debit card, although just recently they started monetizing by limiting free accounts to creating 12 virtual cards a month, so if you need more it's $10/mo. https://privacy.com/pricing https://privacy.com/pricing > This allows you to get around the credit card wall, without fear of them actually being able to charge the card. Note that services can see if a card is virtual and might block them from signing up for free trials. Digital Ocean, for example, does this to prevent referral fraud. Netflix also used to block virtual cards from signing up for the free trial when they had one.
- codecutter 6y ago
  Do you know how they detect virtual cards? I have seen some scripts which detect whether card number is valid CC or not. But never heard of validation of virtual cards.
  - segmondy 6y ago
    The first 4-6 digits of cards are called BIN (Bank Identification Numbers). Every bank has there own. So if you started your own company called codecutter virtual cards. You will have to get a BIN from Visa & Mastercard. Say your BIN is 5123-45 then all the cards you issue will begin with 5123-45. Anyone in the industry can obtain a list of all who owns' all BINs and the type of cards is it. Gift card, virtual card, credit card, debit card, etc.
  - lukevp 6y ago
    Card numbers all come from BIN ranges, most likely these virtual cards are all issued within some specific BIN ranges (meaning you can tell them apart based on a certain # of prefix digits).
  - judge2020 6y ago
    It's not inherit to the card, rather it's pulled via info from the card network (visa/mc/amex/etc). Stripe, for example, returns `card.funding` which is either credit, debit, prepaid, or unknown - blocking anything other than credit or debit isn't bad for SaaS businesses who doesn't want prepaid cards anyways[0]. Outside of that, you can use the IIN/BIN (first 6 digits) to build a blocklist of virtual-card-issuing banks[1]. 0: https://stripe.com/docs/api/payment_methods/object#payment_method_object-card-funding https://stripe.com/docs/api/payment_methods/object#payment_m... 1: https://developers.braintreepayments.com/reference/response/credit-card/ruby#issuing_bank https://developers.braintreepayments.com/reference/response/...
    - dvfjsdhgfv 6y ago
      > blocking anything other than credit or debit isn't bad for SaaS businesses who doesn't want prepaid cards anyways It's not clear to me what you mean here: do you suggest SaaS businesses should reject those customers who prefer paying with prepaid cards? Hello, this is me! When I see a prepayment option or even Paypal, I gladly pay, but when you want my credit card info, I wave you good bye!
codecutter 6y ago
I have Citibank DoubleCash card and I can generate virtual card number for it. Typically it is for one-time use because the expiration date generated is for next month.
KMnO4 6y ago
> If anyone knows of other ways to create virtual cards, please let me know. To extend the plea, if anyone knows how to do this in Canada, I’d love to know. As far as I know the services that exist are USA only.
- judge2020 6y ago
  Might be because of clamped regulations[0] - most of these third-party virtual card issuers, including privacy, make money from interchange fees, but when those are reduced (for good reason) it becomes less profitable to support that country. However, one service that is doing this is Revolut which has a private beta for Canadian users and will provide virtual cards[1,2]. 0: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-09/visa-mastercard-amex-agree-to-trim-interchange-fees-in-canada#that-jump-content:~:text=The%20U.S.%20companies%20agreed%20to%20reduce,points%20to%201.4%20percent%20on%20cards https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-09/visa-mast... 1: https://www.revolut.com/en-CA https://www.revolut.com/en-CA 2: https://www.revolut.com/en-CA/legal/premium-fees#card:~:text=Virtual%20Revolut%20Cards https://www.revolut.com/en-CA/legal/premium-fees#card:~:text...
tetraodonpuffer 6y ago
I don’t think that having an invalid c/c absolves you from debts accrued when using services that have traffic thresholds for switching between free and for pay. This is definitely a limiter for me when signing up for these free sites: it usually is couched with language along the lines of you don’t want your business to be impacted by us turning off your service, but I am not joining as a business, I am joining as a “I am a developer investigating if this is worth it for my business” I would prefer plans along the lines of “pay us $10 to activate, if you go over traffic we cut you off but guarantee no other charges, if you leave we refund your $10 no questions asked” or “no charge upfront, if you go over the free tier we charge up to $10 once only and then cut you off”

judge2020 6y ago

> If anyone knows of other ways to create virtual cards, please let me know. privacy.com (https://privacy.com https://privacy.com, or If you want to use a referral, privacy.com/join/NPNDJ ) is also free and works across any bank/debit card, although just recently they started monetizing by limiting free accounts to creating 12 virtual cards a month, so if you need more it's $10/mo. https://privacy.com/pricing https://privacy.com/pricing > This allows you to get around the credit card wall, without fear of them actually being able to charge the card. Note that services can see if a card is virtual and might block them from signing up for free trials. Digital Ocean, for example, does this to prevent referral fraud. Netflix also used to block virtual cards from signing up for the free trial when they had one.

codecutter 6y ago
Do you know how they detect virtual cards? I have seen some scripts which detect whether card number is valid CC or not. But never heard of validation of virtual cards.
- segmondy 6y ago
  The first 4-6 digits of cards are called BIN (Bank Identification Numbers). Every bank has there own. So if you started your own company called codecutter virtual cards. You will have to get a BIN from Visa & Mastercard. Say your BIN is 5123-45 then all the cards you issue will begin with 5123-45. Anyone in the industry can obtain a list of all who owns' all BINs and the type of cards is it. Gift card, virtual card, credit card, debit card, etc.
- lukevp 6y ago
  Card numbers all come from BIN ranges, most likely these virtual cards are all issued within some specific BIN ranges (meaning you can tell them apart based on a certain # of prefix digits).
- judge2020 6y ago
  It's not inherit to the card, rather it's pulled via info from the card network (visa/mc/amex/etc). Stripe, for example, returns `card.funding` which is either credit, debit, prepaid, or unknown - blocking anything other than credit or debit isn't bad for SaaS businesses who doesn't want prepaid cards anyways[0]. Outside of that, you can use the IIN/BIN (first 6 digits) to build a blocklist of virtual-card-issuing banks[1]. 0: https://stripe.com/docs/api/payment_methods/object#payment_method_object-card-funding https://stripe.com/docs/api/payment_methods/object#payment_m... 1: https://developers.braintreepayments.com/reference/response/credit-card/ruby#issuing_bank https://developers.braintreepayments.com/reference/response/...
  - dvfjsdhgfv 6y ago
    > blocking anything other than credit or debit isn't bad for SaaS businesses who doesn't want prepaid cards anyways It's not clear to me what you mean here: do you suggest SaaS businesses should reject those customers who prefer paying with prepaid cards? Hello, this is me! When I see a prepayment option or even Paypal, I gladly pay, but when you want my credit card info, I wave you good bye!

codecutter 6y ago

I have Citibank DoubleCash card and I can generate virtual card number for it. Typically it is for one-time use because the expiration date generated is for next month.

KMnO4 6y ago

> If anyone knows of other ways to create virtual cards, please let me know. To extend the plea, if anyone knows how to do this in Canada, I’d love to know. As far as I know the services that exist are USA only.

judge2020 6y ago
Might be because of clamped regulations[0] - most of these third-party virtual card issuers, including privacy, make money from interchange fees, but when those are reduced (for good reason) it becomes less profitable to support that country. However, one service that is doing this is Revolut which has a private beta for Canadian users and will provide virtual cards[1,2]. 0: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-09/visa-mastercard-amex-agree-to-trim-interchange-fees-in-canada#that-jump-content:~:text=The%20U.S.%20companies%20agreed%20to%20reduce,points%20to%201.4%20percent%20on%20cards https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-09/visa-mast... 1: https://www.revolut.com/en-CA https://www.revolut.com/en-CA 2: https://www.revolut.com/en-CA/legal/premium-fees#card:~:text=Virtual%20Revolut%20Cards https://www.revolut.com/en-CA/legal/premium-fees#card:~:text...

tetraodonpuffer 6y ago

I don’t think that having an invalid c/c absolves you from debts accrued when using services that have traffic thresholds for switching between free and for pay. This is definitely a limiter for me when signing up for these free sites: it usually is couched with language along the lines of you don’t want your business to be impacted by us turning off your service, but I am not joining as a business, I am joining as a “I am a developer investigating if this is worth it for my business” I would prefer plans along the lines of “pay us $10 to activate, if you go over traffic we cut you off but guarantee no other charges, if you leave we refund your $10 no questions asked” or “no charge upfront, if you go over the free tier we charge up to $10 once only and then cut you off”