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Topic: How anonymous are Bitcoin debit cards? (Read 187 times)

newbie
Activity: 129
Merit: 0
June 14, 2018, 01:06:16 AM
#11
can be anonym but when you register the card Bitcoin do not cantum name, address, contak person along with your data other self.

so when doing a transaction with Bitcoin, like withdrawal or deposit money can not track your name id except your Bitcoin address. But maybe it will be different again when Bitcoin card registration must use data yourself, then it is in the make sure it is not anonym anymore.
hero member
Activity: 924
Merit: 556
Usage is not a big thing if you buy in shops or withdraw money from various banks. The real IP address can be concealed.
I think except the address the card is sent to, there are the same amount of information revealed as you would buy with Bitcoin.

Not very anonymous since they'll have information about your usage and may collect other data (address, IP, etc), but considering how shady some of these companies are, it's probably a good thing for them not to have your ID even if they have quite a lot of information.
jr. member
Activity: 126
Merit: 1
I did not know such things exist.
hero member
Activity: 938
Merit: 559
Did you see that ludicrous display last night?
Not very anonymous since they'll have information about your usage and may collect other data (address, IP, etc), but considering how shady some of these companies are, it's probably a good thing for them not to have your ID even if they have quite a lot of information.

Cards are definitely not intended to be an anonymous payment system, so since in the majority of circumstances you'll have the option to use cash, you might as well just do that (or indeed, actually spend Bitcoin rather than fiat from one of these cards).

I also think that these anonymous Bitcoin debit card services are hanging by a thread and at any point they could become illegal, so I personally steer clear.  I did have a verified Xapo card once though.

hero member
Activity: 924
Merit: 556
I don't really belive that they are totally anonymous because somehow - as you wrote - they should send you that card.

The question is if the debit card issuers hand over the name and address to the payment providers. As I wrote, I could not find information regarding this in the ToS and policies.

ps. regarding address how about using a P.O. box?

P.O. boxes are not anonymous anymore. At least not in my country. You need to provide a name and address to register it and to verify with an id card. So same situation.
hero member
Activity: 1442
Merit: 629
Vires in Numeris
....

ps. regarding address how about using a P.O. box?

As long as the P.O. box is not yours Smiley
Anonimity matters only if someone really wants to find you (even the tax authority). In that case they can ask the P.O. box service provider (e.g. the national Post) to give them your details, because you need to sign something to have a P.O. box...
jr. member
Activity: 137
Merit: 1
No. There is nothing anonymous about the debit card because for starters they need to know who exactly is receiving the card which means important details like names and even home addresses will be submitted. No anonymity if you ask me.
legendary
Activity: 1638
Merit: 1163
Where is my ring of blades...
there is no point in using bitcoin debit cards if you are looking for anonymity and a "fiat" card where you can spend everywhere since you are not spending bitcoin but converting to fiat then spending it using these cards. just buy prepaid cards from shops where you simply can pay cash and be nearly 100% anonymous when doing that.
if you want anonymity then use bitcoin directly and if you want full anonymity then use an anon coin like Monero.

ps. regarding address how about using a P.O. box?
staff
Activity: 3500
Merit: 6152
If you don't provide a name, they clearly can't know who you are and for an address, you could use one from a friend or a reship company for example but they'll still know when you use it, where you use etc. so no, anything related to Visa, MasterCard is far from being anonymous.
hero member
Activity: 1442
Merit: 629
Vires in Numeris
Recently I stumbled over an article which promoted Bitcoin debit cards. Few cards were featured as anonymous cards. I researched those cards and found out that you can use them without verification with lower limits however. Those limits (at least in the EU) are up to $1000 without any verification. All you need to provide is a address where the card is sent to. I could not find out if the address is given to the payment providers or not (VISA or Mastercard). What do you think, are those (limited) debit card really anonymous?
I don't really belive that they are totally anonymous because somehow - as you wrote - they should send you that card. They register that name and address somewhere in their database. I know you can tell that e.g. you have ordered it for one of your friends but I don't know if they will belive you or not...
My opinion is that nothing is anonymous anymore in connection with debit/credit cards (bitcoin or not) but they advertise their card with the anonymity to be able to use much higher fees.... but this is only my opinion
hero member
Activity: 924
Merit: 556
Recently I stumbled over an article which promoted Bitcoin debit cards. Few cards were featured as anonymous cards. I researched those cards and found out that you can use them without verification with lower limits however. Those limits (at least in the EU) are up to $1000 without any verification. All you need to provide is an address where the card is sent to. I could not find out if the address is given to the payment providers or not (VISA or Mastercard). What do you think, are those (limited) debit cards really anonymous?
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