Ask HN: Could we create a Tor-like system for debit/credit cards?

7 points

6 years ago

Idea: stop merchants from tracking all your purchases by creating something like the Tor network for credit/debit cards.

Maybe it works something like this: create a co-op financial institution that issues credit/debit cards. Each time you use a card from this co-op, it runs the transaction under an alias card number. You still get charged properly on the back end, but the merchant sees a different name and card number. To use Tor-parlance, imagine the different card numbers as different "exit nodes."

Would it be possible to create something like this? I'm hoping someone who understand the nuts and bolts of how credit/debit cards work can chime in.

Example:

Here are five people and their card numbers:

  | Name      | Card Number         |
  |-----------|---------------------|
  | Donna Doe | 1111 1111 1111 1111 |
  | Carla Coe | 1111 1111 1111 1112 |
  | Brett Boe | 1111 1111 1111 1113 |
  | Ralph Roe | 1111 1111 1111 1114 |
  | Paula Poe | 1111 1111 1111 1115 |

Donna Doe goes to the same supermarket every day for five days. Every day, she uses the same credit card (number 1111 1111 1111 1111). Even though the same card is swiped every day, the merchant sees five different names and card numbers. Example of what cards might randomly come up on those five card swipes:

Day 1: Paula Poe - 1111 1111 1111 1115

Day 2: Carla Coe - 1111 1111 1111 1112

Day 3: Donna Doe - 1111 1111 1111 1111

Day 4: Ralph Roe - 1111 1111 1111 1114

Day 5: Brett Boe - 1111 1111 1111 1113

( I posted the same question to Reddit here: https://www.reddit.com/r/fintech/comments/frhbw3/could_we_create_a_torlike_system_for_debitcredit/ )

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