If you are a "freeloader" or "deadbeat" (I am, proudly) and get a low cut-off card, note that we usually have very good credit ratings, and credit card companies have a nasty habit of auto-increasing our limits, by a lot. It is in their best interest to provide you with the max limit possible. They can do this without asking you.

Also note that the "tap and pay" option for credit cards such as MC cannot be turned off. I asked and was told it was not possible. However this option can be turned off for debit transactions with bank cards.

It is always a challenge to not be used as fodder for bank and fin company profits.
Don

On Fri, 30 Jan 2026 at 10:20, Giles Orr via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org> wrote:
I love this list.  A few replies and some follow-up:

Carey: unfortunately, gift cards would only cover a few use cases.
I'm thinking of small online companies that usually don't accept them.
And to purchase the gift card ... you usually have to use your regular
credit card, which is what I was aiming to avoid.  Paypal has been
mentioned elsewhere and would cover quite a few use-cases - but I've
been a bit uncomfortable with them (owned by Thiel and Musk, and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PayPal#Criticism_and_controversies ).

Don: billing on a VCC is the same as a regular credit card, all your
purchases end up on one bill so it's much the same to the bank.  The
difference is in the overhead of generating and managing multiple card
numbers, and they usually charge you an annual fee for that.

Several financial companies offer VCCs for commercial use, but not for
personal use.  This is presumably because companies are much more
likely to be okay with a yearly fee (almost always part of a VCC
because of that higher overhead), and also because commercial entities
make so many more purchases than individuals that it makes more sense
for them.

The credit card industry has a term for people like Lennart and me who
pay off our credit card bills in full every month: we're called
"freeloaders" or "deadbeats" (
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/deadbeat.asp ) - for the act of
being financially responsible.  Which shows you just how distorted the
fintech industry is: they charge the vendor we buy from 3-5% of every
credit card purchase price (and legally block the vendors from telling
us they're doing it!) and then use a term like "deadbeat" when the
person at the other end of the transaction avoids extra charges.
<sigh>  [end-rant]

William: it's possible the iPhone does generate a new number each
time, and that's a GOOD THING(TM), but doesn't work online.  And I
don't want to concentrate more personal info in my phone ...

Michael: thanks for mention of the low value pre-load card.  But I
think I'm leaning to Howard's low cut-off card for convenience.  For
some reason, it hadn't occurred to me to get another card and set a
really low cap on it.

And Andre: thank you!  Great to hear someone is using Koho and happy with it.

I think what I'm going to do is go the lazier route and get a low
cut-off card.  Less management and probably no annual fee.  I'll give
this a few days to percolate and then decide ...

Thanks everyone.

On Wed, 28 Jan 2026 at 15:51, Giles Orr <gilesorr@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> My apologies, this is not a Linux question.  But this crowd is fairly
> security- and technology-oriented, so it seems like the right place to
> ask.
>
> I'd like to make purchases online with one-time-use credit card
> numbers (think how nice this would be with dubious websites that have
> something you really want: their bad security won't ruin your credit
> rating days or years later).  This idea has been around since at least
> the early 2000s, but it's inconvenient - and as the Dead Kennedys
> said, give me convenience or give me death!  But I'm willing to give
> up some convenience in the name of security.
>
> Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_payment_number
>
> The idea is that you generate a new credit card number for each
> purchase, or perhaps each vendor (which can't be used by anyone else -
> locked to the vendor).  And/or put a credit cap on each number.  The
> inconvenience is that they're short-lived and you have to generate new
> ones frequently.  Which is also going to cause overhead for the bank,
> who will charge you more.
>
> What I'm learning is that A) inconvenience and cost makes them
> undesirable so they're not common, and B) there aren't many in Canada.
> Most recently, a bank employee has pointed out that RBC does have a
> Virtual Debit Card (
> https://www.rbcroyalbank.com/banking-services/virtual-visa-debit/index.html
> ) - but what I immediately noticed is that this seems to be managed
> through a phone app.  I really don't want more personal data
> concentrated in my phone.  Yes, I get why it's on the phone for
> in-store purchases, but my use-case is actually online and I'd prefer
> to manage it through their website or at worst a plugin.  <sigh>
>
> According to a four year old Reddit thread, both Koho and Neo offer
> VCCs in Canada, although it doesn't sound like either is particularly
> well-loved.  And I would prefer (if only by a small margin) to go with
> a bricks-and-mortar Canadian bank.
>
> Does anyone have experience with any Canadian virtual credit or debit
> cards?  Any suggestions welcome.
>
> --
> Giles
> https://www.gilesorr.com/
> gilesorr@gmail.com



--
Giles
https://www.gilesorr.com/
gilesorr@gmail.com
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