Just now (2006 Nov) I have managed to make BofA’s ShopSafe thing work for me.
It seems to be a newly acquired unit of Bank of America.
(I think it was once MBNA Corp.)
BofA’s pages link directly to it.
In a few clicks one gets a “Temporary Authorization” which seems to be in effect a separate credit card with its own 16 digit card number plus a three digit security code.
It also has an expiration date.
I already had a BofA Visa card so it was especially easy for me.
I got some background here.
I:
- logged into my BofA online banking service,
- Clicked the blue ‘Customer Service’ link high on the page,
- Followed the hard to find ‘ShopSafe’ link (search for it),
- Followed the obscure ‘Use ShopSafe’ link (search for it),
The rest is fairly obvious and quick.
To use your new ‘card’ to pay someone you will need:
- the 16 digit cord number,
- the 3 digit security code
- the expiration date: mm/yy.
These can be retrieved later thus:
> Activity > View Active ... > click on some line > Use Number
Use the ‘Activity’ tab to see what Temporary Authorizations are in effect and their status.
You can delete them or extend their limit.
I didn't need to agree to any new terms.
I used this new number to pay SecondLife.
I discovered that I had to enter my name there with normal capitalization instead of how it appears on the card in all caps.
SecondLife took their money which I verified soon thereafter at the BofA site.
My SecondLife stipend showed up promptly.
So-far, so-good.
I will report problems here.
(2007 Apr) As of now I have used this service several times with no problems.
(2007 October) I stumbled on the (reasonable) restriction that one such CC number can be used with only one merchant.
It says this in the FAQ.
Perhaps you should read the short FAQ.
I didn’t.
I think there are other services like this.
Other rumored names are
- One-Time Use Credit Cards
- substitute credit card numbers
- controlled payment numbers