Or we could just move to a system where it was possible to pay for something electronically without giving a merchant the ability to charge arbitrary amounts into the indefinite future...

This is why I use http://privacy.com for some recurring services and one-off transactions. It pulls from your bank account via ACH a few days after a transaction but the ability to make one time use cards comes in handy.

One of these things is much easier to effect, as an individual.

Use virtual card

Agreed. And I give an unsolicited thumbs-up to Capital One. My card has had fraudulent charges made against it multiple times (somewhere between 5 - 10 now), and they've always taken care of it with just one phone call where I get a capable human on the phone very fast to handle all of it, the entire charge reversed, no fees. They are prompt and professional about a replacement, which gets shipped express, they make helpful suggestions about recurring payment merchants I should probably reach out to based on my purchase history.

(No, I don't work for them or have any real love for banks, but credit where credit is due - pun intended.)

Correction: this is why you never use debit or credit cards on the internet.

In a sane world it would be considered insane to use something as insecure. Frankly, they should be considered illegal.

I don't give my wallet to the guy I'm purchasing something from and let him extract the necessary funds - why should it be ok to do so on the internet?

That the banks reimburses me for invalid transactions is not a valid approach - that is directly funding criminals.

Generate one-time cards for every purchase, anything less ought to be considered negligence.

Citibank offers generated credit card numbers that can have a limit in money and time.

I absolutely agree with you here. The only time I use my debit card is to get cash out of an ATM. And that's only because AmEx charges a fee for cash advance.

Any credit card should be safe, at least in a reasonable country. In the US, for example, you have zero liability for fraudulent transactions that don't use your physical card, by law. A bad company might make things a bit more difficult, but you will get your money back.

Totally agree on debit cards. In theory they have similar protections, but the fact that they remove your money immediately can cause a lot of trouble.

I had an opposite (BAD) experience with Amex. I switched my internet provider, called the old one and cancelled the service. They didn't give me any cancellation number, but kept charging me monthly via Amex. They were going out of business (no wonder), so they stopped picking up the phone and had PO Box for the address, but kept charging!

When I asked Amex to cancel or prevent further charges, they refused to do anything without a cancellation number, which I didn't have and couldn't get.

So, your mileage may vary.

the main reason to used credit vs debit is the longer time window alloted to dispute charges. in some cases, debit cards only allow 48 hours.