Whether you’re shopping online or in person, it’s increasingly risky to hand over your credit card. Fortunately, you don’t have to. There are tools you can use to continue to shop while keeping your payment card credentials safe.
3Start Using a Digital Wallet
When shopping in person, don’t pull your credit card out of your wallet unless you absolutely have to. It’s time to use your phone instead. iPhones and Android phones alike have the ability to make digital payments. All you have to do isadd your cards to Apple Payor Google Wallet and tap your phone against the same payment terminal you would normally tap your card against. If you have a Galaxy phone, you have the option to use Samsung Wallet instead.
Each of these apps keeps your credit cards hidden from the retailer you are doing business with. Instead, they create a virtual token, which is effectively a temporary replacement number to funnel the payment through. The retailer can’t track your shopping patterns because your number changes each time. If the retailer suffers a data breach, you don’t have to cancel and replace your credit cards. The numbers you used when making purchases are already gone anyway.
I was skeptical at first, but now I getwhy digital wallets are safe to use.
2Create Temporary Virtual Burner Cards
If you’re using Privacy, whenever you’re ready to make a payment, with a single tap, you create a new card for one-time use or make one to be used exclusively with a single retailer. The latter is helpful for any of your recurring subscriptions, such as Netflix. It’s also great for places where you shop frequently but don’t pay a monthly fee, like Steam.
Unlike digital wallets, these virtual burner cards are not tied to your existing physical payment cards. Instead, you connect Privacy to a funding source such as your bank account or debit card. Since Privacy lets you track how much money you spend on each virtual card, the service can also be a great help with budgeting.
1At Least Use PayPal
If you want to use your existing payment cards, then you can stick to a service like PayPal, at least when you’re shopping online. PayPal has been around for decades and is accepted at many websites. It allows you to save all of your payment cards to a single PayPal account, which saves you from having to re-enter your cards every time you check out. PayPal does not provide sellers with your actual card numbers, protecting you in the event of data breaches.
Unlike digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and Samsung Wallet, which are accepted anywhere that accepts NFC payments, PayPal is not something you can use at any store. It’s up to a seller’s discretion whether to accept PayPal. Amazon is a prime example of one that does not. So, while PayPal can be part of how you secure your cards online, you can’t bank on it as your only solution.
Shopping online has long come with added risks, but since retailers collect and store some of our financial data, shopping in person isn’t without risk either. But with the right tools, you may reclaim some of your financial security. Or you could stick to cash.
