The PayPal division of eBay, which operates the Web’s most respected online payment voucher system, is beginning beta trials of a next-generation online payment system, in cooperation with MasterCard. Using what’s described as a virtual debit card, a customer will be able to make a PayPal-authorized purchase using a one-time number good only for that transaction.
Perhaps the most innovative feature of the VDC system, the implications of which could be enormous if the trial is successful, is that it generates a new MasterCard number for each purchase. That number will be automatically filled in forms for retailers that accept MasterCard, by way of a browser-based add-in program. Once that number is validated, and a supplemental verification takes place between PayPal and MasterCard, that number would be discontinued.
BetaNews | PayPal ‘Virtual Debit Card’ Beta Seeks to Eliminate ID Theft
Nelson Hochberg on March 17th, 2007 at 9:18 am