3V

Have recently just received my 3V card which is a card which you can use to make purchases online, without the use of a credit card! Sounds great doesn't it?! I had heard about 3V about a year ago but never took the time to look into it any further, but with my own credit rating being in the red I decided to see what it was all about. Basically, you sign up via www.3v.ie, receive a card in the post and then use the card in participating outlets to obtain a unique 14 digit visa style number to be used online.

At the moment, 3V can only be used in Ireland, the UK and Germany, but it's a great idea isnt it?especially when you've had bad experiences with credit cards and find it hard to make payments, with this you pay for how much you want to spend before you receive the visa number, so there's no interest and no chance of debt (unless of course you're a shopaholic like myself and just don't know when to stop spending money!lol). I haven't yet used it but am sure I'll get to put it to good use soon! I have my holiday to Majorca this Saturday so can't afford to spend any more money until after I get back. Also, just so that you know, there is an extra charge to purchase a visa number and that's €5, so for example if you were purchasing a visa number to the value of €100, you would in fact have to pay a tota of €105 altogether! At first I thought that was a bit unfair, but when I thought of how much interest I have paid on my credt card in the past it's not much at all.

So, if you like to buy things online and don't have/want a credit card, I would really recommend 3V! I want to use mine now!!!