Plumbing

Visa virtual debit card. Foreign bank cards

Every diligent shopaholic, plowing the vastness of the largest consumer goods market - the US market, sooner or later faces the same problem - well, some American stores do not accept bank cards issued by Russian banks. What to do in such a situation, and how the US Unlocked service can help - read our review.

Chic Nordstrom and democratic Fossil, trendy Todd Snyder and Walmart, elite Bloomingdales and useful Dell - the list of US stores that do not accept our cards is huge and sometimes the things that we need are sold exclusively there. Why this happens - there can be many reasons. From banal distrust of our banking system and unwillingness to spend money on additional security systems to the business policy of a particular brand that sends customers to a local site, as, for example, the same American Adidas does. But our prices are different, of course.

Of course, some will say, you can turn to the services of intermediaries. But how can they be trusted? Especially now, in the face of a serious decline in orders and financial instability. And the example of one of the leading operators in the foreign online shopping services market - Dostami, which has already ceased to fulfill its obligations to customers, is known to everyone.

And besides, if you are used to making purchases exclusively on your own, using either the delivery of sellers or the services of mail forwarders, then there is only one option on the market today to buy where you want and need. This is a rechargeable US Unlocked virtual card with a US billing address.

But before we tell you how it works and how much it costs, please note: for purchases in US stores that do not accept our cards, you must enable a VPN connection in the US, because the IP address from which you access the store , must be American.

How to get a US Unlocked card

The registration process is very simple and straightforward. Enter your email address on the site and create a password. Next - enter the first and last name, even lower - choose the address of the warehouse in the United States among the available partners:

Immediately enter your address in Russia - enter a real address, you will need communications with the system in the future. The next step is to replenish the account. By clicking on the "Next" button, you go to a page where you are asked to determine the amount that you are ready to deposit into the account:

Please note that you will be charged $5 immediately for activating the card. After 2-4 working days the card will be activated.

Here choose which one is closer to you. And the amount consists of: $5 (activation) + $100 (replenishment amount) + system commission (each payment system is different).

After replenishing your account with one of the specified methods, you just have to go through verification - confirmation of your identity. To do this, you need to upload two documents to the system. It can be:

– a valid identity document (passport, driver’s license);
- a document confirming the address, no more than 3 months old, which will indicate your name and address. Accepted phone or utility bill, bank statement:

Verification usually takes one to two days. After that, as it was written above, within 2-4 business days you will receive a notification about the full activation of the card and the possibility of conducting operations on it.

Once again, the card is virtual, that is, you do not receive plastic in your hands, only data comes to your personal account on the usunlocked.com website - the card number, validity period and CVC authentication code.

And finally, the main numbers that you need to know when working with the US Unlocked card:

1. Monthly card maintenance fee is $3.5

2. For each successful transaction, the US bank deducts a commission of $0.5, for unsuccessful or canceled - $0.75

3. Recharge fees apply - see above, more details on usunlocked.com

And most importantly, before shopping in "complex" stores, do not forget to turn on the VPN. Happy shopping!

Benefits of the MasterCard Virtual card

Free connection of 3D-Secure service.
Bonus program PSBonus - accumulate bonus points for card purchases and exchange accumulated bonuses for rewards that you need!
Ability to block the card immediately after purchase. You can unblock the card yourself in the Internet bank or by calling the contact center.
The validity of the card is 2 years.

Getting a MasterCard Virtual card

You can apply for a card at the bank office or on your own in the Internet bank.
Quantity MasterCard cards Virtual, which you can have at the same time, is not limited.
Card production time - up to 5 working days, card receipt - only at the bank's office.
Virtual cards are issued in Russian rubles, US dollars and euros at the "Basic" tariff.

Benefits of Visa Virtual Prepaid Card

Instant issuance and receipt of card details.
Payment of the fee for issuing a card in the Internet Bank from an account or card of any bank.
Free activation of SMS-informing and 3D-Secure services.
The possibility of issuing a card with a certain limit for each purchase.
Replenishment of the card in the Internet bank.
The validity of the card is 3 months.

You can purchase a prepaid virtual card in the PSB-Retail Internet bank in the "My Bank/Cards" section.

If you are not an Internet bank user, go through a simplified online registration in the PSB-Retail system (without visiting a bank office) and pay for the issuance of a virtual prepaid card with a card of any bank.

Helpful information

Visa virtual prepaid card limits:
- Existing customers with access to the PSB-Retail Internet Bank can issue a virtual prepaid card with a face value not exceeding 300,000 (three hundred thousand) rubles. The total amount of transactions on a virtual prepaid card is unlimited.
- New users of Internet banking who have passed a simplified registration in PSB-Retail Internet banking can issue a virtual prepaid card with a face value not exceeding 15,000 (fifteen thousand) rubles. The total amount of transactions on a virtual prepaid card does not exceed 40,000 (forty thousand) rubles during a calendar month.
- The number of cards that you can have at the same time, both for existing and new customers - no more than 2 (two).
Obtaining the details of a virtual prepaid Visa card:
- The number and validity period of the virtual prepaid card are available for viewing in the PSB-Retail Internet bank in the "My Bank" section.
- The last 4 digits of the card number and the secret code of the CVV2 / СVC2 card are sent to you in an SMS message to the mobile phone number you specified when issuing the virtual prepaid card.
- You can order the resending of an SMS message containing the CVV2/CVC2 secret code and the last 4 digits of a virtual prepaid card in the PSB-Retail Internet bank in the "My Bank" section.
Replenishment of a virtual prepaid Visa card is possible:
- in the Internet bank PSB-Retail;
- using the service "Transfers from card to card".
The currency in which the virtual prepaid card can be issued is Russian rubles. Conversion of funds when making transactions in US dollars or euros using a virtual prepaid card is carried out at the bank's rate in accordance with the current tariffs.
You can familiarize yourself with the rules and tariffs for issuing and servicing prepaid virtual cards.

SwitchVPN client - simplicity and minimalism

Something to keep in mind: the difference in speed between cheap and expensive services can be as much as two times, so the best approach is to try a few and choose the best one. This is not so difficult to do - everyone offers a money back service if the client is not satisfied with something.

The setup process itself is extremely simple - all three providers provide either detailed instructions, where to click and what to write, or a program that will configure itself, disable and connect the VPN.

The user will only need to select a server that will provide the highest connection speed. For HideMyAss, this is done inside the program, for StrongVPN, on the website, and for SwitchVPN, by hand, by sorting through the servers from the list. To independently check the quality of the connection, you can use the usual www.speedtest.net , or you can http://cloudharmony.com/speedtest - an excellent site that checks the connection speed with cloud storage and content delivery networks, where the main data arrays are actually stored. In general, it provides much more indicative figures than the abstract connection speed with no one knows who.

Also, with general equals, it is worth choosing a server that is as close as possible to home - for residents of the central part of Russia, this will be New York or Washington. Servers located on the Pacific coast are much slower for us, but the situation is reversed if you live in Vladivostok.

The connection protocol is most often not critical, but in my case, the L2TP connection worked faster than PP2P. Again, no one forbids you to configure both options and check which one will work faster with your provider. If desired, and if you have a fairly modern router, VPN can be configured directly on it - and then the entire home network will be with an American IP. Another VPN is easy and natural to set up on smartphones and tablets, and with the help of special programs you can freely watch the same Netflix or listen to Pandora radio from anywhere. The main thing is that the connection speed is enough.

How to get an American payment card

The second line of defense against Americans from non-Americans is the country of issue of the payment card. When you try to pay with a credit card issued in Russia, a message pops up that the payment cannot be completed.

This problem is solved by purchasing an American virtual card from EntroPay (www.entropay.com). Virtual bank cards are also common in Russia - they are used for secure payments on the Internet. In our case, we need the American one. From the point of view of electronic payments, this card is practically no different from any other, real one - the same numbers, expiration dates and security codes. The only difference is that she does not have a so-called. "Billing Address", so it will not be accepted where it is required - that is, for example, in the iTunes or Amazon VoD stores, and it is not credit - i.e. in their terminology, this is a Debit Card. I will warn you right away: the American system for verifying payments from plastic cards sometimes behaves unpredictably, so there is no 100% guarantee that the card will work in all stores.

Many consumers are accustomed to making purchases and paying for them via the Internet. One of the most simple ways payment is the purchase of a virtual card of the selected bank. How to create a virtual card, and what problems you may encounter, we will find out right now!

Step-by-step instruction: how to create a virtual Visa card

The creation of virtual Visa cards is possible in almost any bank in our country. Opening methods are identical. Let's look at a few examples:

Example #1. Qiwi

By creating a prepaid Qiwi Visa Virtual, you are essentially creating a card for a fixed amount. That is, after using this amount of funds, you will have to create a new "virtual" account.

Getting a virtual Visa card is very easy! Payment details will be sent via SMS to the mobile phone number you specified.

Example No. 2. Sberbank (you must have a debit card opened at the bank)

Example #3. WebMoney

Example #4. Yandex.Money

We go to the site of the Yandex.Money payment wallet.
In the "Bank cards" section, select the "Yandex.Money virtual card" tab.
Enter the password for the wallet and link the card to the number of the desired mobile phone.
Confirm the application for issuing a virtual card by receiving an SMS code. Her details will be stored on the site in personal account your wallet and the function of ordering details via SMS will be available.

The features of this card are the absence of an opening fee, the validity period is within a calendar year, the commission for transfers is 3%, taking into account the payment of the obligatory 15 rubles.

What does the owner of a virtual card get - product features

The popularity of issuing virtual cards by Russian banks is due to the growth in the volume of online purchases: with the help of "virtual plastic" it is possible to safely pay for goods on the Internet anywhere in the world. But payment in regular stores and cash withdrawals are not possible. The banking market is divided by such types of payment systems as Visa Virtual and MasterCard Virtual.

Currently, work is underway to create and put into circulation cards with payment system"MIR", perhaps in the future there will be virtual cards of the "MIR" system. The preference of most users is still given to the classic Visa Virtual.

The virtual means of payment has characteristic differences from its classic banking "compatriots":

lack of a physical carrier (plastic), which means: no hologram, no magnetic stripe available, owner's signature is optional;
obtaining a card is possible without a personal presence at the bank.

Advantages and disadvantages of using a virtual Visa card

Virtual cards have a number of advantages, such as:

The ability to secure your main debit / credit account from fraudulent "capture". The buyer can transfer the necessary amount for purchases via the Internet to his virtual account and easily pay for purchases through a card, the duration of which is from 2 months to 1 year. The details of your main bank card account remain safe, and attackers will not be able to take possession of it.
Spending limit - you will be able to control your purchases and be more economical in terms of spending.
You can block your card at any time. This can be done either in the personal account of the payment platform, or by calling the hotline to the employees of the selected bank.
Does not have a physical medium.

The main disadvantage of virtual cards is the following:

The bank may offer "prepaid" cards and often cash paid at a time and fixed. You can't "report" funds. But there is always the opportunity to start a new one, since this function is not forbidden.
Some cards have a maximum validity period of 2 months, which is not always convenient for the consumer.

Important! If you plan to open a virtual Visa card to pay for online casino services, then make sure that the payment platform allows such payments.