Prepaid cards offer safe way to shop online | Bangkok Post: tech

CREDIT CARDS

Koy, a first jobber, never gets exhausted when she goes shopping. With more and more shops going online, she found surfing the net looking for clothes, gifts and home decorative items was enjoyable and convenient - and she did not have to face Bangkok's notorious traffic. Now she prefers making purchases on the internet.

But such convenience sometimes has to be traded off against a feeling of anxiety. "I feel uncomfortable whenever I have to key-in my credit card number or other details about myself," she said.

Many consumers today share the same unease as Koy when they buy goods online.

Such concerns may soon be a thing of the past, because online shopping will become more secure and consumers need not worry that their privacy will be compromised. Prepaid gift cards and prepaid credit cards prove to be marvellous choices for online shoppers.

You may be familiar with prepaid cards for mobile phones which can be found at many convenience stores. A prepaid credit card is just like a credit card and a gift card combined. In the US, you can buy one at any Walmart store or supermarket. There's just a fee of $3 (93 baht) to $10 to deposit. You can spend it online, not just at the store you bought it from, and all you have to do is deposit money into it.

A prepaid credit card is much like a regular credit card except that the credit limit is generally lower. It normally comes with an additional account set-up fee. The amount varies, but typically ranges from about $5 to $50. However, additional fees will be imposed each time more cash is deposited into the prepaid credit card account.

They are like a credit card in the way that they can be used over and over, until you spend all the money that the card was bought with.

A prepaid gift credit card is like a prepaid credit card, except that you can not deposit money into it. It's a one-time use card - once it's used up, it's done. You can use it anywhere that accepts credit cards as well as online.

Prepaid credit gift cards are becoming popular as they are practical and convenient for both consumers and shops.

For those who are concerned about privacy security on the internet or identify theft, prepaid credit cards and prepaid gift cards open up the possibility of engaging in cyber transactions.

Koy's friend recently bought her a $50 prepaid Visa gift card from the US, and she uses it for online shopping. Just scratch the back of the card to uncover the code number, then use that number instead of your credit card number to make purchases on the net. It's as simple as that.

"With the card, I no longer have concerns about the source of origin, and also can limit purchases," Koy said.

For parents who want to give their children credit cards to use while limiting their purchasing power, these seem to be the ideal choice. Unfortunately the cards are not yet available in Thailand, but those bought in the US can be used here and anywhere else in the world.

Relate Search: credit gift cards, Walmart store, supermarket