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Secure Online Shopping with Visa Debit Cards

Written By Abe Olandres
Published • July 16th, 2005
[ The Internet ]
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Ever since I had that hacking incident with my Paypal and GMail account, I’ve received lots of emails on how to be more secure with online accounts and doing transactions (the incident was published in the Inquirer). So when I sat down with the reps from Visa, it was also the topic at the lunch table, among other things.

Although I already knew the concept, they explained to me the benefits of using a Visa debit card compared to cash (read more about it here). Of course, there’s also the benefits using credit cards but the debit method is more geared towards those who already have the money and wants to pay immediately (in essence, it’s like virtual cash).

So, okay I have to admit I have about 14 active credit cards with me, half of which I used to pay various recurring bills online, some serve as back-up and a couple used to travelling abroad and buying gadgets to review.

They also tell me that you can actually convert any of your existing ATM cards into a debit card — all you need to do is go to your bank and request for one. The bank will give you another card, for free, with with Visa logo in it (note to self: go try and do this next week).

If you look into one of your cards, you should be able to see some other logos like Cirrus or Maestro (I wonder though if those logos will be replaced and not just added when you request for a Visa debit). If you own a BPI card, then it’s the same idea as the EPS (electronic payment system) only that Visa is supported worldwide while EPS is just limited to the Philippines.

After that, you can use the ATM card to pay for dinner bills, purchase, and even for online transactions. The part for the online transactions is still a little vague with me since the credentials are a little different compared to a regular credit card.

The folks from Visa tells me they’ll provide me with a Visa Debit card in the coming weeks and I should be able to try and do all those things they say it can do. So, I’m accepting the challenge.

Once I get the card, we’ll do some shopping (preferably online) and whatever gadget we decided to buy, I’ll just give it away via a raffle to our readers here (how’s that sound?).

Last time I used a debit card was back in 2004 when Equitable-PCI bank was not yet bought by BDO. Recently, I’ve been contemplating on getting an EON card since it ties up well with Paypal (without the usual remittance fees charged by other banks).

Anybody out there using debit cards as primary mode of payment? Maybe you can share some of the benefits and disadvantages the card brings along with it. For one, no more miles or rewards points.

Disclosure: Visa is topping up the card they will provide to me so I’ll be spending all that to buy some gadgets and gizmos we’ll be giving away to readers. So watch out for that soon!

visa debit

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.