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Final – A credit card built for the 21st century

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Re: Final – A credit card built for the 21st century

#312
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is credit card fraud really a big problem (for consumers I'm asking, not banks or merchants)? In my experience, chargebacks are pretty easy, debit or credit. Same with reporting a lost or stolen card and voiding any purchase made on it. And every credit card I've ever had has been remarkably proactive about alerting me to possible fraudulent activity.

When banks have to pay millions of dollars a month in credit card fraud, it impacts consumers. And there is peace of mind that there is no POSSIBLE way your card can be used for fraud.

You're tempting the gods when you say "no possible way." Recent history has shown repeatedly that when it comes to hacking especially access to funds, defenses are good for only short periods of time.

Re: Final – A credit card built for the 21st century

#313
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is credit card fraud a real problem for consumers? My experience has been that my number gets stolen and American Express overnights me a new card. It's mildly inconvenient to update my recurring billing info, but it's not something I feel like I need a product to solve.

When you have to update 15 different recurring accounts, and it happens 2 or 3 times a year, it gets to be a burden. Despite it happening that often to me, I almost invariably would find some account I forgot to update every time until they got mad when charges started getting declined. I finally fixed this situation for myself by using a dedicated card just for recurring charges, and thus far (knock on wood), it has…

This. The Target breach cost me a late fee. I have numerous things on reoccurring subscriptions. When I was sent a new card I remembered most of those subscriptions, but it only took forgetting one. Only a few months later did I realize I hadn't updated that account.

Re: Final – A credit card built for the 21st century

#314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, that's the most common way to pay rent in the US - it's easier , cheaper, and faster than an inter-bank transfer. Can you believe it?

As recently as 2 years ago, our apartment complex actually charged a $30/month fee for paying rent online (as opposed to sending a check).

The first time I went to pay something via online banking, I was stunned to discover that it meant that the bank would mail out a cheque on my behalf!

Re: Final – A credit card built for the 21st century

#315
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disposable credit card numbers have been around for decades. The user experience has historically been miserable. Maybe this will be better. Doubt it.

Absolutely, virtual cards have been around for years. But we've researched the space extensively and did not find a product we like or could use consistently. So we built Final. Some of the better products out there exist for customers outside of the US.

I've thought about the feasibility of such a service for a long time, but I always figured you'd run out of numbers. If there are nine digits available (16 - 6 - 1), that's 1,000,000,000. If you have, say, 100,000 customers, that's 10,000 per customer, which would quickly get used up if they're using one per transaction.

Re: Final – A credit card built for the 21st century

#316

As some have pointed out, Citi had this[1] since about 2004, Fleet/Bank of America [2] had it in their setup as well for as long as i can remember. The problem is going to be PCI compliance - the rules that govern merchant procedure for accepting physical credit cards. Specifically, the last 4 digits must be visually validated on the card and typed in to avoid cloned cards (chips largely solve this) in most stores. F…

I'll also add that other banks, I think Chase, also had this feature. But they stopped doing it because I guess not enough people were using it.

So yea, while I am happy for Final, as someone who has used disposable numbers for years, I am having one of those "I listened to their music way before they were cool" moment.

Re: Final – A credit card built for the 21st century

#317
post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my personal moral code, most debts ARE a moral obligation. Perhaps your moral code is different from mine.

If I borrow from a person, I'll bleed to death in the snow to make sure they get paid back. But from a corporation? Their losses are priced into their interest rate. I'll still pay them back of course, but if I lose my job, have no income, I'm not crying over it.

Let me get this straight, you don't feel bad about owing Walmart $10, because they factor that loss into their business model, and expect it to occur?

Well, you should care, because they factor it in by increasing prices for consumers. You're just getting everyone else that shops at Walmart to cover your debt. That's irresponsible, and I see no difference between owing Walmart $10 and owing your friend $10.

Re: Final – A credit card built for the 21st century

#318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolutely, virtual cards have been around for years. But we've researched the space extensively and did not find a product we like or could use consistently. So we built Final. Some of the better products out there exist for customers outside of the US.

I've thought about the feasibility of such a service for a long time, but I always figured you'd run out of numbers. If there are nine digits available (16 - 6 - 1), that's 1,000,000,000. If you have, say, 100,000 customers, that's 10,000 per customer, which would quickly get used up if they're using one per transaction.

Couldn't you reuse a disposable number given some time interval?

Re: Final – A credit card built for the 21st century

#319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've thought about the feasibility of such a service for a long time, but I always figured you'd run out of numbers. If there are nine digits available (16 - 6 - 1), that's 1,000,000,000. If you have, say, 100,000 customers, that's 10,000 per customer, which would quickly get used up if they're using one per transaction.

Couldn't you reuse a disposable number given some time interval?

I don't know enough about how it all works, but perhaps -- because the number isn't valid on its own -- giving the number to a different customer, with a different name, effectively invalidates its previous use and means it can be safely reused.

Re: Final – A credit card built for the 21st century

#320
post #2

CTO/Co-Founder of Final here. Final is what we built to take back control of our own credit cards for how and when we’re charged, instead of leaving it up to merchants. That led to merchant-specific numbers and limits, managed automatically, as well as transparency in statements. It’s our stake in the ground, a way to shift the culture in credit towards consumer friendliness. Happy to answer questions

Can people outside the USA get final? Your website doesn't say.
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