Are there anonymous bank cards?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

In everyday life, all people are used to the fact that on any plastic card from the bank there are certain personal data, but in modern times there is a perfect analogue. Anonymous bank cards are a copy of ordinary debit and credit cards that turn out to be non-embossed - they do not have the name and surname of the owner, and only the issuing bank and the card issuer (MasterCard, Visa, etc.) have information about them. Since there is no personal data on the card, in order to identify the client in the trade and service network, it is necessary to present a passport or any other identification document. But are there truly anonymous cards?

What do anonymous bank cards mean for the economy?

According to the Russian government, anonymous e-wallets and anonymous cards are used by people who are engaged in "cashing out". That is, there is a cashing out of money that is on the accounts of citizens and which was obtained illegally - after laundering capital, transferring bribes, selling prohibited funds. In other words, everything to followalmost impossible. According to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the use and movement of money through such anonymous wallets and bank cards is "an uncivilized approach, where the movement must be absolutely transparent", and therefore this practice must be stopped.

Prohibition of anonymous bank cards

In October 2017, news appeared in the news feed that anonymous bank cards in Russia would be banned. However, in reality, the actions that have been taken in relation to anonymous bank cards are a bill that would amend the Federal Law “On the National Payment System”, which would prohibit the owners of anonymous cards and wallets from completely withdrawing cash from any ATM of any bank.

However, payment systems such as Yandex. Money and Visa Qiwi Wallet offer anonymous wallets (cards), which also make it possible to use anonymous banking services, but with one categorical feature - cash withdrawals are limited to the amount about 5,000 rubles, with a certain amount of money that can be stored on the wallet, as well as a restriction on purchasing power - you can’t make purchases on the Internet, as well as in stores around the world, it’s forbidden to transfer money to another wallet, to a bank card or account, receive transfers from wallet to wallet. All other functions will be opened by the issuer only after passing identification in the office, or by providingcopies of the passport, or indicating other documents of the citizen to choose from. Yandex. Money and Visa Qiwi Wallet do not primarily aim to obtain confidential data for further commercial use, they need to make sure that the user is a real person with really existing documents.

Anonymous Visa bank card

In 2016, Visa and the Ukrainian bank Fidobank announced the opening of a joint project to create a contactless electronic payment service called The Pay, which provides the opportunity to issue an electronic Visa card that turns any Android smartphone with NFC function into a contactless bank card without any need to go to the bank, unlike many other competitors. In addition, we are talking about the anonymity of payments made.

Interference with bank card anonymity

However, this know-how in the field of anonymous bank cards was not successful either, since Fidobank is under the jurisdiction of Ukrainian legislation, which does not understand the concept of "electronic payment instrument" as an anonymous banking service - the service provided by the bank is only a tool for managing the client's money resources, that is, the data has already been provided to the bank for using its services. This application only makes it possible to simplify the process of issuing an anonymous payment card, however, the banking service itself does not make it anonymous, since it requiresnecessary identification procedure. The absence of the latter leads to a violation of the law for banking organizations, since they are prohibited from opening and servicing anonymous current accounts, according to the current legislation of the countries.

Positive aspects of account anonymization

Nevertheless, Fidobank's service is a successful breakthrough in the field of anonymization of banking services, but far from complete in terms of absolute avoidance of providing data. This is confirmed by the system itself, which is used for The Pay (Visa), - MoneXy, which needs a mobile number as a formal user identification. However, this is also a step towards anonymity, as the industry of anonymous numbers is gaining momentum, and therefore, formally, the user replenishing his anonymous card is hidden and will not be identified before coming to the bank.

The benefit of this method of identification is the absence of the slightest attachment of the client to the annoying actions of the bank, which, in turn, could send them through various channels of communication with the client. However, even the banal presence of a mobile phone in its database will allow you to invite a client to your place to provide special special offers.

International market for anonymous bank cards

In the international banking market, there are some companies that offer offshore bank cards. They were released in Guatemala, Cyprus, as well as St. Vincent andGrenadines. Companies offer to purchase a "prepaid card" on which it is possible to store money, have access to them using the "plastic" itself around the world, withdraw funds from various ATMs, and pay in stores.

The card will also not have a first and last name, but can it be called completely anonymous? Of course no. According to the assurances of the companies, neither on the magnetic strip, nor on the chip itself, nor in the transaction will there be a name, as well as the last name of the client. However, when issuing this card, it is necessary to register a real person in accordance with all the rules that exist for issuing banks. This means that, as such, the cardholder will exist in the bank's database. According to the companies involved in issuing such cards, this is also necessary for the security of the client's account so that fraudsters who are looking for any loopholes to gain access to funds will not gain access to it.

The only way such "sovereign" companies offer to anonymize a bank card is to create additional cards for the owners of the main account. In this case, any funds that are placed on the account will not be under the control of the main card holder, but under the control of the person who will also have access to them.

It is obvious that issuing cards outside the country of residence and transferring access to the account to third parties is a risky proposition, since all funds are controlled by the other party, and litigation in caseunforeseen situation with a legal entity located in another country will be budget-intensive and labor-intensive.

Features of the Russian anonymity market

As mentioned earlier, according to the current legislation of the Russian Federation, the complete impossibility of user identification is unacceptable, as this is contrary to the rules for banks.

Nevertheless, considering the Russian banking services market, one can come across offers from banks to issue non-embossed cards, which, in fact, do not have the name and surname of the cardholder on their front side, however, for issuance at a bank branch, you must present a passport. You can already see anonymous bank cards of Sberbank, Alfa-Bank, Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Moscow Industrial Bank, Rosselkhozbank and other credit organizations.

Sberbank against competitors

The most popular product is the Momentum card, which is issued by Sberbank, is completely free, allows you to access non-cash payments, transfers, remote bank services.

However, there are also disadvantages in this card - it is not completely anonymous, it has restrictions on withdrawals, it cannot be used as part of a salary project, there may be difficulties with registration, difficulties with reissue if stolen or lost.

All these disadvantages overlap with one main advantage - to get relativelyAn anonymous card can be obtained in just 10 minutes by contacting any branch of the bank.

Yandex. Money is one step ahead

This credit organization also allows its customers to manage funds using a non-named, but at the same time virtual card linked to a wallet. Even if you have the status of "anonymous", that is, without absolutely any data, according to some restrictions on the operations carried out, but at the same time you have the opportunity to issue a virtual anonymous bank card with which you can pay contactless if your phone has an NFC chip and the corresponding Yandex. Money application. At the same time, it turns out that only mail and a mobile phone are needed to issue such a card.

Conclusion

Returning to the question of the existence of completely anonymous cards, it should be understood that the presence of such cards will jeopardize the global economy in connection with the conduct of many possible potentially dangerous payments, as well as transfers. These include corruption, as well as sponsoring terrorism. Thus, the identification by the issuing bank and the payment system of its users creates an areola of security not only in the economic sphere of society, but also in the political and social.