Linux Friendly One-Time Credit Card Providers? 62
PoochieReds writes "My credit card company has just introduced some pretty foul new rules (shortening grace periods, raising fees, etc.), so I've started shopping around for a new one. I use this card for most of my purchases and pay off my balance at the end of each month. One thing that my old CC company had was the ability to use one-time CC numbers. This was really handy for Internet and over the phone purchases, and I like the safety it provides. The downside was that this co. used a flash-based app for this feature. Does anyone have recommendations of a CC company that can provide one-time CC numbers via a regular browser-based web form?"
Research? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Research? (Score:1, Flamebait)
You know if there was an IQ test to post to slashdot, you wouldnt pass?
Re:Research? (Score:2)
Re:Research? (Score:2)
Many banks use ActiveX IE browser 'programs'. Only very few places have I seen use some sort of Flash. The flash sites work OK with Linux.
THen of course, you have idiots saying "ActiveX is not flash". Really?
Re:Research? (Score:1)
Re:Research? (Score:1)
Re:Research? (Score:1)
Re:Research? (Score:1)
That wasn't so hard. If there was a Google test you wouldn't pass.
Re:Research? (Score:1)
Where do I select my cpu? or does this one download work on both sparc/powerppc?
It does not look like the usual linux friendly configure/make/make install
If there were a Linux friendly test, this would not pass...
--
/apz, remember kids, Linux != x86
Re:Research? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Research? (Score:1)
no, I dont care for open source, if it only would work on all major
architectures. I do not ask for c64 linux support of flash.
maybe my snide remark for the configure/make was unwarrented, I dunno
but I really dislike when people say linux supported when they only
mean x86 linux while ignore all the other architectures. Is it really
that hard for commercial entities to say 'x86 Linux' supported?
--
/apz, Honk if you are against noise pollution!
Re:Research? (Score:2)
Ahh fuck it, I hate GPL nazis, I'm going back to BSD.
Re:Research? (Score:1)
I do not require it to be open source, I see I should have not put
that into the discussion since it was a stupid digression that only
derailed the main problem. Flash is only x86 Linux. Period.
also, I did not mention GPL, also, configure/make is the standard BSD
way as well IIRC. Finally, if there were Flash for xBSD, you too would
be dissapointed if you could not get your flash to run on your ultra5
sparc, or any other box, except the x86.
--
/apz, Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national d
Re:Research? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Research? (Score:2)
This isn't even a problem, it's just laziness.
Re:Research? (Score:1)
So, no, I'm not being lazy, quite the contrary, I've been searching everywhere for the same answer as the OP for months now.
Re:Research? (Score:2)
fin
My bank used to do this (Score:2)
Re:Linux friendly? (Score:1)
Download the plugin? I will gladly run a plugin that would work
on the Linuxes I touch : ultraSparc/Alpha/Mips/PowerPPC.
--
Re:Linux friendly? (Score:2)
Or you could use some means of emulating IA32 and run another Linux in a box.
Re:Linux friendly? (Score:2)
Did you call them and ask if they had alternate methods, or did you come straight to
Flash based in linux? (Score:3, Informative)
Anyway, I've never heard of disposable CC numbers, it does sound handy. I think I'll have to look into too.
And for the "why ask slashdot, when you can google it in two minutes" aswer, it looks like, American Express [com.com], and MBNA [pcworld.com] offer them, but without signing up, I don't know what kind a mechanism they use. The PCworld article says something about "Orbiscom's O-power" application, but I can't find technicle details on it. Orbiscom's clients [orbiscom.com] page says that most of the bigger CC people are dabbling in this sort of tech.
Have fun.
American Express Private Payments discontinued (Score:2)
American Express was offering a "Private Payments" service, which dispensed disposable credit card numbers valid for one month. Cardmembers could obtain numbers by going to the Amex website or through a USB smart-card reader (hardward and software provided for free, with MS Windows integration). The website method worked just fine with Mozilla -- it was just HTML forms with a bit of JavaScript.
Sadly, Private Payments was discontinued two years ago. I suspect there were too many support issues in conj
Re:Flash based in linux? (Score:1)
This is a sign you should perhaps be more hesitant with the "why ask slashdot when you can google it" answer.
American Express tried one-time disposable credit card numbers of a sort years ago, but discontinued them. But it wasn't much like what the poster had in mind. Now they don't of
Re:Flash based in linux? (Score:2)
But flash *does* run on the vast majority [macromedia.com] of desktop platforms out there. Since this guys wants to do banking, I assume he's working on some sort of desktop system. Who runs a desktop that isn't x86, PPC, or SPARC?
Re:Flash based in linux? (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Flash based in linux? (Score:2)
My MBNA Visa does, and it uses Flash. You can use a flash app via their webpage that runs fine under linux as a javascript popup with flash inside it, or you can download a standalone executable(still flash based) that runs in your system tray on Win32.
I don't think the OP was talking about MBNA; either that, or they haven't screwed me yet. Honestly, I have gotten tons of offers with a lower interest rate, but the one time use CC #s keeps me with
Re:Flash based in linux? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Flash based in linux? (Score:2)
--LWM
Hope you're getting money back... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Hope you're getting money back... (Score:3, Informative)
The bank knows the original card number, of course. AFAIK they're subject to the same (waived) limits. One-time numbers are usually set up with a max credit line, as well. So you can say, okay, I think I'm going to spend $100 online for Mother's Day at Amazon and some gourmet food place, and you generate the number, and regardless of whether only the authorized merchants or Harry the Hacker gets the number, no more than $100 total ca
Re:Hope you're getting money back... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Hope you're getting money back... (Score:1, Insightful)
Thank you for illustrating well the tragedy of the commons. One-time use CC numbers help reduce fraud. Fraudulent charges, while not directly charged to the account of the defrauded customer, will eventually be paid for by consumers. Whether it be by higher prices from the merchant or by higher interest rates and fees on the part of CC companies, the entity that absorbs t
Re:Hope you're getting money back... (Score:3, Insightful)
Thank you for illustrating well the tragedy of the commons. One-time use CC numbers help reduce fraud. Fraudulent charges, while not directly charged to the account of the defrauded customer, will eventually be paid for by consumers. Whether it be by higher prices from the merchant or by higher interest rates and fees on the part of CC companies, the entity that absorbs the cost of the fraudulent purchase will pass that cost on to the consumer.
I disagree that this is a tragedy of the commons situation.
Re:Hope you're getting money back... (Score:2)
It's the retailers that carry the risk of fradulent purchases.
To be precise, the liability is split between the merchant, the merchant acquirer (the merchant's bank, who collects transactions from the merchant and pays the money to the merchant) and the issuer (the bank who issued the credit card). Oh, and the cardholder is liable for $50 (in the US), but this cost is typically borne by the issuing bank, who is often successful at pawning it off on acquirer or merchant.
All three try very hard to avo
Re:Hope you're getting money back... (Score:2)
I't sprotection from unscrupulous sites who do recurring charges and make it a hassle to cancel. You give them a temporary number to try it out, and if you don't like it the number won't be good in a month and they can't keep charging you.
Quality Control (Score:1, Redundant)
Re:Quality Control (Score:2, Informative)
Mmmm-mmmm... it sounds like you've never tried. Flash binaries have been readily installable in most of the more mainstream browsers (with the exception of Lynx and Links ;-)) for at least ~7 years.
Re:Quality Control (Score:1, Informative)
Flash on 64bit Linux (Score:2)
Leave MBNA go to Citibank (Score:5, Interesting)
I just got a notice in the mail from MBNA a few days ago. It made me wonder if I had suddenly something bad had happened to my credit report and they were sticking it to me - a common practice among credit card lenders. Since it sounds like you got the same thing, I guess they are doing it everyone.
I have been using MBNA's ShopSafe one-time use credit card generator for at least 5 years now. At one point they rolled out a new version that broke with firefox (or rather, it stopped supporting a bunch of convenience functions, like drag-and-drop of the credit card number). MBNA's tech support was inane, they were not even allowed to run a copy of the shopsafe software in front of them while talking on the phone, strickly "did you remember to plug in the internet" level. Netscape, not to even mention Mozilla, was so far beyond their comprehension it wasn't even worth trying.
So I did some research and found out that the entire system was provided by a third party company that specializes in new kinds of credit and payment systems. Unfortunately I did not bookmark their website, and their name was so generic sounding that I can never remember it. But what I did learn is that MBNA, Citi, Discover and AmEx were all clients for this same service, but AmEx dropped out circa 2002.
So, given all that, I've elected to go to Citibank, especially since they have a 1%/5% cashback card too. I have not been able to find out if Citi's cards have the same terms as MBNA is just now instigating, but I am hoping it won't matter. I intend to drop my spending with MBNA to $0 for two months and then call them up and tell them that if they want my business back, I want the old terms back.
Re:Leave MBNA go to Citibank (Score:1)
It works, it has always worked if you have the flash plugin. It just doesn't have the same convenience functions as it does with MSIE - even with firefox on windows.
One thing that doesn't work with firefox on linux is their online bill paying. Firefox in windows works, but firefox in linux gets into an endless loop where you click on something and it always tells you that your session is timed out. But online bill payment is not part of
citicards.com (Score:2)
Re:citicards.com (Score:3, Informative)
thanks! (Score:2)
Now I just need to find a sterling GBP £ card.
I haven't seen an online banking system I've like yet. Ones I've seen include:
- one using java; not really needed
- a slick one from the Coop; light, fast and nice looking but nothing to stop keyloggers
- a secure one from LloydsTSB that stops keyloggers by mouse selection of an addi
Re:thanks! (Score:1)