Not Linux ... Virtual Credit Cards
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
could you buy a gift card, use it, then go to a store and use up the remainder on a random purchase? Carey
On 01/28/2026 2:51 PM CST Giles Orr via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org> 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 ------------------------------------ Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/DCYHUEU...
and if you use paypal, it should pop out a direct paypal window for your password, so the questionable site gets only the paypal number and can't reuse it. Carey
On 01/28/2026 2:51 PM CST Giles Orr via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org> 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 ------------------------------------ Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/DCYHUEU...
I can see why banks, Walmart, CanTire, large retailers would not want to do virtual credit cards. They make a lot more money on their credit card than their actual products. When people are late to pay the interest rates are 20% and above. I've not heard of virtual credit cards, but know from a financial perspective banks and fin companies would be discouraged from doing them. They make way more money when you buy a lot, then pay the minimum balance, along with their interest rate. This is why credit cards are available, often, for no charge, and you get card benefits on top. That expense comes from others who pay the card's high interest rates. Don. On Wed, 28 Jan 2026 at 18:24, CAREY SCHUG via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org> wrote:
and if you use paypal, it should pop out a direct paypal window for your password, so the questionable site gets only the paypal number and can't reuse it.
Carey
On 01/28/2026 2:51 PM CST Giles Orr via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org> 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 ------------------------------------ Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/DCYHUEU...
Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/D3EINRL...
On Wed, Jan 28, 2026 at 07:37:46PM -0500, Don Tai via Talk wrote:
I can see why banks, Walmart, CanTire, large retailers would not want to do virtual credit cards. They make a lot more money on their credit card than their actual products. When people are late to pay the interest rates are 20% and above. I've not heard of virtual credit cards, but know from a financial perspective banks and fin companies would be discouraged from doing them.
They make way more money when you buy a lot, then pay the minimum balance, along with their interest rate. This is why credit cards are available, often, for no charge, and you get card benefits on top. That expense comes from others who pay the card's high interest rates.
I just had to go check if there was info on how many people carry a balance on their credit cards. That was a lot higher than I expected, at somewhere in the 40 to 50% range in both Canada and the US. Eek. Well then I can see how credit cards make big money. I guess I qualify as a bad customer to them in that case. -- Len Sorensen
On 2026-01-28 15:51, Giles Orr via Talk 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. ..
Does anyone have experience with any Canadian virtual credit or debit cards? Any suggestions welcome.
I haven't used one of these, but I do use a online fundable EQ Mastercard. When I travel on vacation I flush a few hundred into it from my EQ account and use it for potentially dodgy purchases. Any unauthorized use more than the remaining account value fails and its time to get a new card. The downside is that you have to keep track of whats on the card, and refill it regularly. Its not what you want, but there is nothing to prevent you from filling the card with your next dubious purchases value, then making the actual purchase with the card a minute later. -- Michael Galea
I heard that iPhone is generating a new number for each payment transaction. -- William On 2026-01-28 15:51, Giles Orr via Talk 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 Orr wrote: > Does anyone have experience with any Canadian virtual credit or debit > cards? Any suggestions welcome. Koho for 5 years. Very happy and satisfied using it for dodgy/questionable (My definition are sites who doesn't offer paypal) websites here and abroad. They give a physical (never used or activate) card by mail and virtual card(VC) online using mastercard. Advantage: * Lock the card. Once transaction is done, lock it so even if they know the 4 digit security code, no one can use the VC. * conveniently replace VC online anytime tied to your account. Since it's a prepaid credit card: * money security side effect is even if someone uses your card and your balance is $10, that's all they can use up until you purposely topped it up again. * no interest fees. /Balrog
On Wed, 28 Jan 2026 15:51:42 -0500 Giles Orr via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org> 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.
I have what I call a "stupid" credit card, with a credit limit of $500. I use this on Amazon, for ordering Pizzas and generally for paying bills to people who honesty and/or security I don't trust. This can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but it keeps bad actors away from my good credit card and my bank account. -- Howard Gibson hgibson@eol.ca http://home.eol.ca/~hgibson
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
Disconnect. I guess I misunderstood the original requirement. I thought this was finding "Joes custom pc boards" on the internet and not trusting them to put through additional charges, or sell your number to people who would. I don't understand using one credit card to buy a gift card, as the gift card does not track back to the original, the person redeeming the gift card has no access to the card I purchased it with. And I was thinking a VISA gift card, which should work any place a visa card works, not a "Sam's Boutique" gift card. you can buy the visa gift card at the checkout line in a store with cash if you are that worried about being tracked. you can scrape off the paint on the back and use like a debit card online. I agree with reservations on paypall, but there are alternatives like venmo that many places will take. i'm not feeling that guilty about PayPal because this would only be a small purchase. If I don't trust the vendor, I'm not buying a $ 2,500 gaming computer from them. For in--person..well for in person I'd use cash. For online it might be possible to use a check. not a personal check, but a money order from your bank. often some number included free, especially if you maintain a balanc to avoid other fees. granted they are also companies I wish to avoid, google pay perhaps? remember still, if I don't trust the store, this is a SMALL purchase. most of my paypal purchases are under $5, maybe 6 at once, as in 6 kinds of seeds at $1.50 through $3.50 each on one day from 6 vendors on ebay. Carey
On 01/30/2026 9:19 AM CST Giles Orr via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org mailto: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 ).
From: Giles Orr via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org>
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,
No longer, as far as I can tell. <https://www.fool.com/investing/how-to-invest/stocks/who-owns-paypal/>
and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PayPal#Criticism_and_controversies ).
Interesting list!
Floolowing this thread and a few general comments. Having had my credit card compromised several times over the 45+ years that I have been using them I have found that Visa has reasonable responses to credit card fraud. I do have a MC card but use it very infrequently and just about never on the internet. I have found that as soon as the problem is recognized you can go back and flag invalid transactions and they will be reversed. Not sure if it still applies but there was a limit on liability for fraudulent use of your card but it has been a very long time since I actually read the fine detail in the T's and C's. I do not use a debit card because the banks took the position that any fraud was the customers fault. Once again this may no longer be true. I do not use gift cards but that is not for any reason other than there have seemed to have no value to me. Then there is https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/15/apple_dev_bad_gift_card_code/ Of the card problems I have had over the years the egregious ones were caught by the card companies. The smaller ones have been double billing for things like gas. The latest issue was someone managing to use my card with Amazon to buy some small items. This was possibly to test to see if the number would work. Rule #1 is to make sure you track all your transactions and reconcile your monthly statements against your purchase slips. Its a pain I know but it insures that you do not get charged for stuff that you did not purchase. -- Alvin Starr || land: (647)478-6285 Netvel Inc. || home: (905)513-7688 alvin@netvel.net ||
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 ------------------------------------ Description: GTALUG Talk Unsubscribe via Talk-unsubscribe@lists.gtalug.org Start a new thread: talk@lists.gtalug.org This message archived at https://lists.gtalug.org/archives/list/talk@lists.gtalug.org/message/4C5M3SQ...
On Fri, 2026/01/30 04:44:57PM -0500, Don Tai via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org> wrote: | 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. Not in Canada: "6.(1) An institution may not increase the credit limit on a borrower’s credit card account without first obtaining the borrower’s express consent to do so." https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/industry/commiss... (This is perhaps a little off-topic ...) Cheers John
Maybe this is a guideline and not a law? Increased limits has happened to me multiple times. I have to call and have the limit reduced. On Sat, 31 Jan 2026 at 12:55, John Sellens <jsellens@syonex.com> wrote:
On Fri, 2026/01/30 04:44:57PM -0500, Don Tai via Talk < talk@lists.gtalug.org> wrote: | 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.
Not in Canada: "6.(1) An institution may not increase the credit limit on a borrower’s credit card account without first obtaining the borrower’s express consent to do so."
https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/industry/commiss...
(This is perhaps a little off-topic ...)
Cheers
John
Maybe, relevant consent is implied in the "I Agree" buttons, that we all click without reading. :-) On 2026-01-31 12:58, Don Tai via Talk wrote:
Maybe this is a guideline and not a law? Increased limits has happened to me multiple times. I have to call and have the limit reduced.
On Sat, 31 Jan 2026 at 12:55, John Sellens <jsellens@syonex.com <mailto:jsellens@syonex.com>> wrote:
On Fri, 2026/01/30 04:44:57PM -0500, Don Tai via Talk <talk@lists.gtalug.org <mailto:talk@lists.gtalug.org>> wrote: | 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.
Not in Canada: "6.(1) An institution may not increase the credit limit on a borrower’s credit card account without first obtaining the borrower’s express consent to do so." https://www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/ industry/commissioner-guidance/guidance-5.html <https:// www.canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/industry/ commissioner-guidance/guidance-5.html>
(This is perhaps a little off-topic ...)
Cheers
John
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Giles Orr wrote:
I love this list. A few replies and some follow-up:
Love your reply where you summarize everything to help the list. Reminds me when i was involve with the Solaris Mailing list years ago. This is even more relevant when Canada Computers have a privacy data breach which includes credit card information weeks ago. Looks like a rogue javascript was injected on their website without them knowing and a redditor (customer) called them out. They were not upfront and open about it. more info: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-computers-data-breach-website-9.7067...
participants (11)
-
Alvin Starr -
amvaron＠gmail.com -
CAREY SCHUG -
D. Hugh Redelmeier -
Don Tai -
Giles Orr -
Howard Gibson -
John Sellens -
Lennart Sorensen -
Michael Galea -
William Park