Virtual credit card number?

November 12, 2020 2:29 PM

I need a debit card (my bank is Simple). I have access to them, I have Apple Pay but I need a card number to do things as I don't have the card yet. I don't get my card until November 22. I'm willing to pay for a pre-paid card or whatever it takes. What are my options? Ideally if I can use my routing and acct number to buy a "virtual card number" that'd help immediately, or use Apple Pay to go to a store and buy a prepaid card? Having a hard time Googling this and need something now.

Long story short I'm trying to resolve issues with Chase which closed my account for some reason, so I signed up for Simple and have money in that account. I didn't realize it'd take 10 days for a new card with no expediting option. I'd like to fill up an emergency card with $1k but it looks like there's all kinds of scammy stuff for that. Given that I have an account and routing number, I should be able to do wire transfers at the very least? Is there a store I can go and use Apple Pay to buy a credit card and fill it with money?

All this feels sort of scammy, it is not helped that banks are closed where I am due to covid. Thanks!

posted by geoff. to Work & Money (9 answers total)

If you're in the US/have a Walgreens near you, it looks like Walgreens accepts Apple Pay as an in-store payment. So perhaps you could go to Walgreens and buy a pre-paid VISA with Apple Pay.
posted by lyssabee at 2:40 PM on November 12, 2020

You can buy a prepaid Visa Gift Card at your local grocery store. This is a Visa card in almost every way - you can even register it with your name and billing address online to use online shopping.

A $500 card will cost around $7 in purchase fees and then no further fees except maybe some inactivity fees five years or so from now.
posted by Hatashran at 2:44 PM on November 12, 2020

Response by poster: And I can use Apple Pay on my phone to buy the card? Again, I have it tied to my bank account and don't have a working debit card. I thought at one point there was a restriction to what you could use to buy with Apple Pay and that pre-paid cards were one of them or I could be wrong.
posted by geoff. at 2:50 PM on November 12, 2020

That will probably be up to the retailer. There's no harm in going to several retailers and trying; maybe ask at customer service before actually attempting the Apple Pay transaction so you don't get a bunch of declined transactions.
posted by Hatashran at 3:16 PM on November 12, 2020

If the store takes Apple Pay, you should be able to buy a gift card with it. The transaction is the same as a credit card transaction. Where you may have trouble is with some retailers that don’t allow you to buy a gift card on credit at all, but that is less and less common. If you go to a Safeway/Kroger/CVS type chain you should be fine.
posted by assenav at 6:52 PM on November 12, 2020

I am positive that I had an card number for Apple Pay before I received the card and was able to use it immediately.
From the Wallet app select the Apple card under "Pay Cash", then select the "..." at the top right of the screen, then "Card Information" to bring up your card number.
posted by ShooBoo at 6:59 PM on November 12, 2020

Response by poster: Ah I guess I don't have Apple Pay (the GS credit card), I have whatever it is that pays through my bank. It is like Venmo. I also have PayPal but no CC through them.
posted by geoff. at 7:24 PM on November 12, 2020

You can connect PayPal to Google Pay and use a PayPal balance in stores. If Apple Pay connects with PayPal, you should be able to do the same with it. You do have to set an in store PIN on the PayPal site for it to work. You don't need a PayPal debit card, just a nonzero balance.
posted by wierdo at 11:03 PM on November 12, 2020

I sometimes use privacy.com for online purchases. I'm pretty sure you can set it up with just a bank acct/routing number if you don't have a debit card.
posted by gennessee at 4:25 PM on November 15, 2020