Review of Anonymous Payment Methods

With the increasing transaction related risks online, the world wide web users these days have become more concerned about privacy solutions. There are millions of fraudsters and companies that are keeping an eye on our online activities; hence, it is always important to follow secure privacy measures for routine needs that also include making payments for services and products online.

There are a variety of payment methods that can be used offline or online; however, many of them are accessible via the internet only. In order to keep your identity hidden during all such online payments; it is important to be aware of anonymous methods.

Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies make use of decentralized user processing systems and cryptography techniques to validate all monetary transactions online. Money units are called tokens and can be traced back and verified during every transaction. Cryptocurrencies offer valuable platforms for executing anonymous online payments.

Although some cryptocurrencies is the best method to make anonymous payments online, the most successful digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are observed to be quite expensive, moreover, it is important to purchase them from trusted cryptocurrency markets. Most of these markets require users to do registration before making any transaction, and you first need to share you ID card details; hence, the anonymity aspect is affected.

It is rarely possible to make transactions using cryptocurrencies without Internet connection and a reliable crypto wallet app. Yes, you can store some coins on hardware wallet looking like a flash drive and pass that wallet to your friend. Still it cannot be fully considered as a natural solution for making offline payments.

It is also important to keep in mind that virtual currencies attract many hacker who use computer viruses like those described on this website to infect investors and steal their money.

Prepaid gift cards

Other options for making anonymous payments are prepaid gift cards. They are easily available at gas stations and sold by many other retailers as well. They come with a variety of privacy options. This option seems quite good as it doesn’t require any payment credentials or identification details to buy such cards and make a transaction.

When buying such cards online, the only point that demands more attention is the service where you want to buy them. Such websites often ask to sign up with your real credentials. There are a variety of gift cards that you can use offline, online, or even both ways.

Prepaid cards

Another traditional solution for making anonymous payments is a prepaid card. You can avail these cards from many big companies. They are almost similar to prepaid gift cards. They can be recharged with money in advance and then can be used to make physical payments instead of cash. You can often complete the transaction without revealing your identity.

In order to use these cards online, it is first important to register with some online website. Experts advise to avoid prepaid cards with reloadable options because they may need real credit and SSN details for activation; hence, are not anonymous anymore.

Disposable Credit Cards

Disposable credit cards are also known as virtual credit cards, and they offer several advantages over prepaid cards. These credit card numbers allow users to make a variety of transactions using real credit account without even revealing actual details of the credit card account. Hence, it is another considerable option for anonymous payments where you can manage funds on your real account while staying protected from a data breach.

In case you are worried about data being compromised or stolen during the online transaction; that virtual account can be closed so that your real identify stays protected from malicious attacks.

The only downside of this method is that it becomes a little difficult to get a refund via these virtual account numbers.

Note that, this anonymous method of payment can be used online because the virtual credit card numbers are not usable like physical cards.

Paysafecard

Some retailers sell prepaid Paysafecard vouchers. These vouchers can be purchased for cash, and then the available 16-digit PIN can be further used to make several online payments. These cards are widely known for ensuring the safest online prepaid payment solution.

Users are also allowed to combine multiple PINs (maximum 10) to make payments for larger orders. These cards can be easily obtained within Europe. However, users from the USA and Canada may find few difficulties to make such anonymous payments.

PayPal

PayPal is a popular method for making payments online as it ensures the desired level of security and user protection. People make use of this method to make several semi-anonymous payments online. However, in order to make anonymous payments; users may first need to register using their bank account or payment card and the receipt generated after transaction contains an email address and name of the user over it.

It means users can register a new PayPal account using some throwaway email address and fund it with the help of a virtual credit card. Hence, indirectly, it can also help you to make anonymous payments that cannot be tracked. Although the process may appear a little complicated, the best news is that PayPal based transactions are accepted on a variety of platforms worldwide.

As this payment method works only through PayPal website, it is suitable for online transactions only.

Cash

The real solution for anonymous payments is making all transactions through hard cash. Although one may need to arrange cash payment via secure mail services; no one can beat this method in terms of a higher level of anonymity. Simply make sure that you do not put your return address on the envelope sending money.

Although millions of people are using this method from the past several years; the only disadvantage to this solution is possible mishandling of mail. It generally happens when you use less reputable mail services for money transfers. Otherwise, cash payments are the best way to keep your actual details hidden from receivers.