Ask HN: Developer friendly credit card?

2 pointsrgovind5 comments

Is there a credit card out there that is "developer friendly"? Like, can I use an API to create temporary credit numbers, push messages to an endpoint when new charges are posted, etc. I am looking for a credit card that allows me to automate my life.

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Very interesting idea though I think that would be hard to do since there are a limited number of 16 digit numbers and if people could use a program to generate an infinite number (say, one for each transaction that is temporary so it can never be stolen) we would run out.

However, I do think that some combination of "paying by email" and some email programming could get you something interesting.

In any case, this idea should get more people thinking about the possibilities.

If a new number were used every millisecond, they would last 300 million years. So maybe not run out soon.

But how many numbers would the world use per millisecond?

Yeah its actually too close for comfort. I'd like to see it that number squared (32 digits at least). Because if they're chosen randomly, we're already at one collision a year!

I think Bank of America has an online service like this. My friend pays for everything online with single-use credit card numbers with a limit exactly equal to what he's buying.

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