SimonDorfman

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/ )

The Problem: I care about privacy and security. I live in the U.S.A. Where should I do my personal banking?

The idea: Start a credit union with a focus on privacy and security. Build the credit union as a template for other credit unions to follow. Open source as much as possible. Recruit smart people like HN readers to become members and give feedback on what we do to make it better. Require an EFF membership to join the credit union.

That's the start. What do y'all think? What questions do you have?