Box 13.2 Visa Buxx pre-paid Visa cards Visa Buxx is a prepaid, reloadable Visa card that teens can use everywhere Visa is accepted. Spending is limited to the amount of money parents load onto the card. When a teen makes a purchase with the Visa Buxx card, the purchase amount is deducted from the card balance. At their discretion, parents can add money to the card or can set up a regularly scheduled automatic transfer to the card as they would in giving a child an allowance. A Visa Buxx card is used in exactly the same manner as a regular Visa card, and transactions with the Visa Buxx card are processed as though it were a credit card. Recognizing that merchants may question a teenager's use of a Visa Buxx card that looks like a Visa card, Visa tells teens that if a merchant asks for identification, they should present their school ID if available; and that otherwise, the merchant should ensure that the signature on the back of the card matches the signature on the sales receipt. With respect to using the Visa Buxx card at inappropriate places that are online, Visa advises parents to discuss how and where the teen can use the card. Parents are also able to review teen spending online using the Visa Buxx Web site, and Visa can e-mail a parent whose teen uses the card at a merchant associated with a code that indicates the merchant may sell products and services considered inappropriate for teen use. However, not all merchants listed in this designation fit the general description of the category, and so it is up to parents to address with the teen any issues related to the use of the card. The Visa Buxx card is similar to prepaid telephone calling cards, except that it can be used to pay for any item or service, rather than just telephone service. Visa Buxx purchases are not anonymous, but there is no reason that, in the future, anonymous prepaid cards issued by Visa or Mastercard would not be as available as prepaid telephone calling cards. Moreover, there is no reason for a vendor to discriminate in the sale of these cards on the basis of age, and it will thus be harder to use such cards as an indication of adult status. SOURCE: Adapted from information on the Visa Buxx card available online at <http://www.visabuxx.com/learnmore/faqs.cfm>.