Why choose Entropay?

Entropay exceeds expectation for many reasons:

- Cards can be created on the fly, and as many cards can be created as possible.
- Cards can be deleted whenever.
- There is NO charge for opening an account, closing an account, creating a card, or deleting a card.
- The only fee is for loading a card with funds.
- 4.95% is the lowest transfer fee out of any VCC company.
- Account setup is instant – no verification is needed.

What more could one want from a VCC company? The service (IMO), is pretty much unflawed.

What does it look like when you login?

When logged into Entropay, there is a very easy dashboard that displays all of your cards, as well as your funding sources:

The column showing your present cards shows the status of your card, and the available balance. To the right, it displays your Entropay funding sources, and the status of those as well.

When you click on one of the cards, the card will be shown as a “virtual credit card”:

Clearly the Entropay card is displayed with, everything you need to make the purchase. It has the 16 digital card number, expiry date, start date, and the CVV which is the security code. What’s more, is the numbers appear as actual text, allowing you to copy and paste it rather than typing it out manually.

One the page it shows the balance of your card, and gives you the options to load or transfer your Entropay card, and view the card statement.

Everything you want and need for a card service, is available. Entropay has got it down to a tee, it’s the perfect service. For a £10 card, it will cost you just 50p, which I think is an absolute bargain. Anyone looking for a secure way to shop online, or avoid ongoing subscriptions, Entropay.com is for you.

The Paypal plugin is only available to US customers

After taking a screenshot of the tools available in my account, Keely then informed me that actually this service is only available to US customers. This makes sense why I could not access it.

Regardless, why the lack of information on Paypal’s behalf regarding the virtual debit card plugin, and WHY was I told by a Paypal representative, that this service had been cancelled?

Not hot, IMO.

The leading Virtual Visa service provider in the UK, is currently Entropay. Entropay gives you the option to generate as many Virtual Visa prepaid cards as you like, which you can then use to buy products wherever you see the Visa sign.

For a list of the best places to find a virtual prepiad Visa credit or debit card, please see the list of best virtual credit card suppliers.

Visa and Mastercard are not banks, but credit card companies. They issue banks with credit and debit cards, with Visa claiming to have issued over a billion cards in it’s business history. (Which, is a lot of cards). Being the largest in the industry, Visa and Mastercard are close competitors, both of which we see all the time with their large TV advertising campaigns. But, which one should we choose?

Well, Visa and Mastercard don’t issue cards themselves. They rely on banks to do it. And it’s the bank that issues the card, that should persuade you to bank with them – not the actual issuing card. For example, if Abbey offered a 7% interest rate on a savings account with a Mastercard debit card, whilst Barclays offered a savings account at 5% with a Visa debit card, naturally you’d choose the Mastercard. So rather than looking at the issuing card, look at the issuing bank. It should be the interest rates, rewards, and perks of that bank that sway you with which card to go for, not the fact of who actually issues that card.

And lets face it, everywhere that accepts card will accept both Visa and Mastercard. So even though “for everything else in life, there’s mastercard” – just remember there’s Visa as well

I’ve seen a lot of talk about the Paypal plugin, and the ability to generate a virtual credit/debit card via the downloadable plugin. It seemed a fairly intriguing idea, and a fairly good idea on Paypal’s behalf. The ability to generate a one time use debit card, that, when used, would deduct the money spent out of your Paypal balance. Not only was this convenient, but it meant that online payments could be a lot more secure. It also enabled Paypal users to use their Paypal account ot pay on websites that only accepted card.

Despite all of the banter about this virtual card, no one told me it had been disabled. In fact, neither did Paypal’s own website. A search on their help files for "virtual card" brought up search results about the Paypal plugin, telling you all about it’s uses and benefits. But no where did it say it was no longer available. An email to the Paypal customer service centre uncovered this:

Dear xxxx,

Thank you for contacting PayPal.

Mr. xxxx, the virtual card was offered for PayPal US previously however,
this service was already disabled and is no longer available.

What we have currently being offered to customers is our top up card and
PayPal credit card.

You can apply for a PayPal Credit Card online by following these steps:

1. Go to www.paypalcreditcard.co.uk.
2. Click on ‘Apply Now’ on the right hand side.
3. Fill in the details.

You have to meet the following criteria to apply:

* You are 18 or over and have a permanent UK address
* You have a current UK bank account and no County Court Judgements for
non-payment of debt
* You have a registered UK telephone number
* You do not already have a PayPal MasterCard

If you have any further questions, please reply to this email.

Okay, so now not only do I realise it is no longer available to US residents, but that it was not available in the UK in the first place.

It’s amazing how such a widely anticipated service, lacks so much information but from the provider, and in the public eye.

Oh well, looks like I’ll have to resort back to my list of best virtual credit cards (vcc) for an alternative.

What services do Neteller offer?

Netellers main service is their Net+ cards. There are virtual credit cards and prepaid credit cards (mastercard). Each are available at very low fees, however Neteller need identification verification before one can apply for either of these. The virtual credit card makes shopping online much safer, and the prepaid cards means only a certain money limit can be spent, meaning the customer does not go overdrawn.

Is Neteller a scam?

Some people have reported to be scammed by Neteller, but the truth is far from this. Neteller will freeze accounts, should they feel they are involved in some kind of fraudulent activity. However, this is to secure both buyers, sellers, and Neteller themselves. So they are not scamming their customers, but instead, protecting them. Those that say they have been scammed, are usually involved in some kind of fraudulent activity themselves.

What’s more, is Neteller are regulated by the FSA (Financial services authority).

Is Neteller safe to use?

Absolutely. You can use Neteller services safely and securely, and be sure your money is in very safe hands. It’s a shame that Neteller isn’t as wide spread in commonly accepted payments across the web.