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> The downside to these cards’ safe design is that the use of these cards doesn’t generate repayment data that is all that useful for lenders Oh no! Anyway[1].

> The downside to these cards’ safe design is that the use of these cards doesn’t generate repayment data that is all that useful for lenders Oh no! Anyway[1]... :) But on a serious note, personally I'm glad that those fintech pseudo credit card products exist. I would be happy to be able to just pay with my normal bank / debit card everywhere on the web. I can't, not even with a third-party like PayPal, but I can with a virtual fintech "credit card", without needing a "real" credit card. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S8eNZ4fw5I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S8eNZ4fw5I

TheLoafOfBread 4y ago
From my experience PayPal sucks for paying anything as (at least for me) it constantly triggers fraud alerts and then blocks whole account for days. Currently I have virtual Visa card provided by my bank in EU. I can load this card into Google Pay and pay with NFC in phone, use it on Amazon/AliExpress/other eshops etc.
- em-bee 4y ago
  paypal can be problematic for receiving money, but i have no problem with paypal to pay my hosting and i used it for airbnb from my debit-card/bank account. the only time i had a problem was when i received money, and paypal wanted to see a bank statement to verify my identity i think. where is your money coming from? and where is it going?
  - TheLoafOfBread 4y ago
    Boss in company had setup following chain: company bank account -> PayPal debit card -> Digi Key order. Worked once, payment refused ever since. Randomly locked and needed to call support to unlock it, so it can be locked again after few days. Similar problem with all other eshops for ordering parts/material. After an argument with the boss, I have forced using of virtual debit card directly from a bank account, never had any problem since. From experience which I got, I don't even understand how anybody can take PayPal seriously.
    - em-bee 4y ago
      part of paypals problem is that it seems so inconsistent, and difficult to understand why it works when it does and why it fails. i would not be using paypal if i had another option, so i am glad my usecase works. i am definitely not happy having to use and support a company that treats its customers arbitrarily like that.
Spivak 4y ago
Unless this is something different I think most people want to generate that information -- "look I'm a trustworthy borrower, give me good credit score!" Like the credit score system is dumb, sure, but I don't make the rules and playing the game can save me about a hundred thousand bucks off my mortgage.
- schroeding 4y ago
  But they do generate that information - they just don't have a choice to decrease their score, as they can't be behind their payments (thus "isn't all that useful for lenders") - right? That's the whole schtick behind "credit builder cards", use them to build up your credit score, isn't it? The cited part in the article "mourns" that part, that consumers get better scores even though they didn't have an "actual" credit card, doesn't it?
- YawningAngel 4y ago
  The author's criticism of these cards is not that they don't build an individual's credit record, but that they reduce the decision-making power of the credit scoring system as a whole. Given the unpleasant and coercive nature of the credit scoring system, that seems like a good thing
- bee_rider 4y ago
  Yeah it benefits the users, by in some sense artificially inflating their credit scores. Also benefits society in general -- injecting junk into the credit agencies data should reduce the viability of their parasitic business model (although unfortunately it is only a tiny amount of junk).

TheLoafOfBread 4y ago

From my experience PayPal sucks for paying anything as (at least for me) it constantly triggers fraud alerts and then blocks whole account for days. Currently I have virtual Visa card provided by my bank in EU. I can load this card into Google Pay and pay with NFC in phone, use it on Amazon/AliExpress/other eshops etc.

em-bee 4y ago
paypal can be problematic for receiving money, but i have no problem with paypal to pay my hosting and i used it for airbnb from my debit-card/bank account. the only time i had a problem was when i received money, and paypal wanted to see a bank statement to verify my identity i think. where is your money coming from? and where is it going?
- TheLoafOfBread 4y ago
  Boss in company had setup following chain: company bank account -> PayPal debit card -> Digi Key order. Worked once, payment refused ever since. Randomly locked and needed to call support to unlock it, so it can be locked again after few days. Similar problem with all other eshops for ordering parts/material. After an argument with the boss, I have forced using of virtual debit card directly from a bank account, never had any problem since. From experience which I got, I don't even understand how anybody can take PayPal seriously.
  - em-bee 4y ago
    part of paypals problem is that it seems so inconsistent, and difficult to understand why it works when it does and why it fails. i would not be using paypal if i had another option, so i am glad my usecase works. i am definitely not happy having to use and support a company that treats its customers arbitrarily like that.

Spivak 4y ago

Unless this is something different I think most people want to generate that information -- "look I'm a trustworthy borrower, give me good credit score!" Like the credit score system is dumb, sure, but I don't make the rules and playing the game can save me about a hundred thousand bucks off my mortgage.

schroeding 4y ago
But they do generate that information - they just don't have a choice to decrease their score, as they can't be behind their payments (thus "isn't all that useful for lenders") - right? That's the whole schtick behind "credit builder cards", use them to build up your credit score, isn't it? The cited part in the article "mourns" that part, that consumers get better scores even though they didn't have an "actual" credit card, doesn't it?
YawningAngel 4y ago
The author's criticism of these cards is not that they don't build an individual's credit record, but that they reduce the decision-making power of the credit scoring system as a whole. Given the unpleasant and coercive nature of the credit scoring system, that seems like a good thing
bee_rider 4y ago
Yeah it benefits the users, by in some sense artificially inflating their credit scores. Also benefits society in general -- injecting junk into the credit agencies data should reduce the viability of their parasitic business model (although unfortunately it is only a tiny amount of junk).