Recently, online commerce has become more and more popular. The main reason is the convenience of shopping. In online stores, you can buy almost all the necessary goods without leaving your home, and pay for them by card. However, not all cards are suitable for online payments.
What cards can be used to pay on the Internet
The ability to make online payments depends on the type of card, namely on its class. There is no difference between Visa and MasterCard in this case. Today in Russia the following types of cards are most widespread:
- electronic cards Visa Electron and MasterCard Maestro and Momentum;
- classic cards Visa Classic and MasterCard Standard;
- premium cards Gold and Platinum.
As a rule, within the framework of salary projects, banks issue the first two types of cards. Whereas premium cards are ordered by users on their own upon reaching a certain social status.
Classic cards Visa Classic and MasterCard Standard allow you to perform the whole range of banking operations, including purchases on the Internet.
Maestro and Visa Electron cards are often free, but they have limited functionality - they both allow you to pay in stores and also withdraw cash. But in most cases, you cannot pay for them on the Internet. The fact is that a security code (CVC2) is mandatory for online payments. It is not available on Maestro and Momentum cards, making online purchases impossible. Visa Electron cards sometimes have the ability to pay for purchases on the Internet. This option is set by the bank individually.
There is another type of bank cards, which are just designed for those who often make purchases on the Internet. These are virtual cards - cards without physical media, but with a full set of necessary payment details. In Sberbank, the cost of their annual service is 60 rubles. per year, in some banks it is issued free of charge and is intended for one-time online payments.
Many people believe that unnamed cards (cards that do not have the user's first and last name) cannot be paid online. However, it is not. The main thing is that the card contains the CVV code (CVC2), and in the field the payer's data indicate the first and last name in Latin, as they are spelled out in the agreement.
Security measures when paying by credit card on the Internet
If your card allows you to pay online, you shouldn't forget about additional precautions. There are a number of simple rules for keeping online payments secure:
- it is worth making purchases only on trusted sites, having previously read reviews of purchases;
- check the website address - often scammers create copies of online stores that differ by one letter or number in the name;
- try to make purchases on sites that support a secure connection (SSL certificate), it must begin with the prefix "https://";
- use virtual cards whenever possible;
- activate the "SMS-informing" service, which will allow you to instantly react to attempts to pay with a card.
Many banks offer additional protection in the form of the 3-D Secure protocol. When paying by card on the Internet, the user must enter a one-time numeric code from an SMS message sent to a mobile phone. Otherwise, the operation will remain unconfirmed.
