using a reloadable card without SSN
 

Do I have to register my reloadable card using my SSN before I can use it? Can I reload it online?
this is the situation
My foreign friend's son is going to a boarding school near my home. I plan to give him a reloadable card as a gift. and load a few hundreds dollar on it every month for him to spend. what card should I buy? I won't have the physical card since his son will keep it, so I want to load it online only. I heard that they require my SSN to for the registration, but since his son doesn't have an SSN and I don't want to use my SSN for the gift. Is there any solution?
Could you give me some suggestions? school is starting soon I want to prepare the gift for him. thanks!!

AML/KYC regulations require identity verification on reloadable prepaid products. You will have to use an SSN or TIN along with a valid US address to register. for any prepaid card. The only exception I know of is a PayPower card, which allows you to load $200 before the KYC regs kick in.

A few cards, like Serve and Buxx and Paypal, allow for easy issuance of the equivalent of an 'authorized user' secondary card. I'm not personally familiar with Buxx and you should read the thread for more, but I believe those are *designed* for parent/minor splits. The card would still be under your SSN but you'd be fully in-charge of the account; the minor shouldn't be able to do anything malicious with your SSN since he'd just be a secondary user, and loading the card remotely should be very easy for you.

You can add a new employee for chase biz card (if you have Chase Biz Cards) and set the limit without SSN.

I have different reasons, but I'd also like to purchase a prepaid credit/gift card without having to provide any personal info. So I thought I'd just bump this thread instead of starting a new one to prove I did at least SOME searching :)

In my case, the card doesn't need to be reloadable, as long as I can put $500 on it initially. It's really only for a one time online payment.

I've searched through a bunch of other threads, and the ones I've looked at (Serve, GreenDot, Redcard, Walmart and I'm sure a bunch of others) all appear to require this as part of the registration process.

Any suggestions?

Most of the reloadables sold by grocery and drug stores can be initially loaded up to $500, used and tossed without ever registering. In my area, I have a seemingly endless supply of PayPower and NetSpend cards that can be bought at grocery stores with CC.

Appreciate the pointer, but I really want to CONFIRM this is the case before making the purchase.

Looking at the T&C's for NetSpend, they mention that "some features" might not work (like international payments) until you register. For PayPower, it looks like you have to register it to be able to use it at all, and registration requires SSN.

Edit: Maybe I'm being too paranoid. I'm fine with giving my SSN to a reputable company like Amex/Visa/MC, as long as they don't run my credit. But I don't want my name associated with the card, otherwise I won't be able to make the anonymous payment (since I assume online payment processing would look at the name associated with the account as well as the account #).

Buy a temp Redbird @ Target and load it up to $1500 or get on off eBay and take it to your nearest Target for the loading. I heard you can punch in any 9 digit SSN which is not being verified unless you register it online for the permanent card.

If it doesn't need to be reloadable, then all you need is a plain old Visa gift card. You can get them at CVS or most grocery stores, or online at Gift Card Mall. They usually need to be registered with an address (or at least a zip code) before they can be used for online payments.

Problem with attaching your SSN and address to a card that will be used by someone else is that your putting your neck on the line. On the other hand, if card is not properly registered, it cannot be reloaded. Best bet is those Vanilla cards at CVS...register a zip and you can use them just about anywhere, online and in person...only draw is the fact they are at $500 max and cannot be reused once balance is depleted.

very true. or, you can get a Serve for $0 fee, load $500, use & toss.

if this is the case, you're better off just buying a VGC or MCGC variable amount and load with a few hundred dollars up to $500 and give him one every now and then. That way, you don't have to worry about your SSN attached to a card that you don't know how he is going to use and what he's going to buy. That would be the safest for you.

afaik, all reloadables now require them to be registered to be able to use all functionalities of the card.

Confirm beyond someone telling you they did just what you describe as wanting to do? In the past, I have bought and immediately used lots of these, mostly because their purchase fees were lower at the time than VGCs at my grocery store.

A potential advantage of reloadables-- beyond a bit of cost savings on the purchase-- is that they do not say "Gift Card" on them.

one vanilla card

you can buy it at Walmart or 711 or most other stores