Cryptocurrencies are increasingly popular both as an innovative way of receiving payments and investing in businesses, but also as a way of sending money to third parties without involving banks and governmental financial institutions.
When it comes to transferring money and cashing out funds, there are numerous regulations depending on the region you are located in. Banks usually require to know the exact source of the funds you are transferring and they may require additional legal check-ups when dealing with crypto-related transfers. Many banks even refuse to deal with digital assets, but this situation is slowly changing.
Additionally, traditional bank account transfers and wire transfers require you to disclose a lot of personal details. Different money transfer services that are popular, such as Western Union or MoneyGram, require contact information on the sender and receiver.
In a world where you are constantly leaving a digital footprint on every online service you use, it may sound difficult to actually send money online anonymously. Luckily, there are actually several methods which provide users with high levels of privacy. In this article, we’re going to take a look at how exactly you can send money and remain incognito on the web.
Pay Directly With Digital Currency
It is fully legitimate wanting to conceal your real identity from third parties which may want to use your data without your consent whenever you send or receive money. One way to do this is to pay directly using crypto assets like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), or some other digital currency, if the other side accepts cryptocurrencies as a payment method. The Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains offer a serious degree of anonymity by default, since no one can trace a transaction to the sender or receiver since there’s no personal ID connected with the address of the wallet used.
Also, if you’re sending assets directly from your exchange account to the destination address, you should pay special attention to the privacy policies of the exchange platform you’re using. In case you’re sending assets from your crypto wallet to a third party, then your main worry is the privacy provided by your wallet.
Luckily, there are many popular and trusted crypto wallets that provide top-of-the-line anonymity while transferring assets. Some of the most popular private wallets are the Ledger Nano S series, Samourai Wallet, and Wasabi Wallet. These wallets provide top quality encryption and they are non custodial, which means they don’t store private keys on their servers. Only you have access to your private keys, so no one can trace the funds by web to the sender and reveal your identity. You should also use anonymous crypto exchanges when sending digital assets, such as Binance, which offers anonymous trading and doesn’t require the KYC (Know your customer) protocol when trading up to 2 BTC daily.
There are also specialized cryptocurrencies for anonymous payments and money orders such as the Stealth (XST) currency of the StealthPay platform, which enables you to send and request money anonymously. This is a good solution for the anonymous sending of money, but the coin isn’t widely accepted. However, you can still use the platform and convert your desired cryptocurrency into XST before sending it. The receiving party just has to convert the XST into another crypto that is more widely accepted, such as Bitcoin.
Send Money Anonymously Using PayPal
If you’re looking to send fiat money like USD or EUR directly and anonymously, then PayPal is a great option. The PayPal platform doesn’t provide anonymity by itself with any sort of encryption or specialized private transfers. Rather, you can achieve anonymity with PayPal if you register an account using a VPN to hide your IP address and provide a Gmail address made anonymously, without mentioning your real name and personal information.
Once you have a throwaway email address, you can create a Paypal account and connect it with a virtual credit card or a prepaid debit card to fund your account. When you send money this way, the receiver will only see the name you associated your account to and the email address, which can both be business names and addresses, chosen specifically to keep your privacy. One of the main perks of using PayPal as a payment method for anonymous transfers is that the platform is really available worldwide and accepted in all spheres, from online shopping to business transactions.
It’s also worth noting that Paypal has a mobile cash app called Venmo which is also a good method for making anonymous payments. You can easily turn off phone number and email address identification in the options and no one can find you by these parameters and trace your payments back, especially if you use Venmo combined with a VPN.
Use Prepaid Gift Cards
Another handy option for anonymous money transfers is the use of prepaid gift cards. Amazon prepaid gift cards are among the most popular ones and you can use them to purchase an ever-increasing range of products online, as well as for paying services such as the use of a secure VPN.
These gift cards offer great anonymity since you can buy them at supermarkets, shopping centers, and gas stations, and you don’t have to provide any sort of personal ID that discloses your identity. The only concern you might have is when signing up on different platforms where you plan to use these gift cards as payment. For this reason, it’s important to use a VPN when creating your account on platforms such as eBay, in order to make the money untraceable and disconnected from your IP address.
A Few Words Before You Go…
Keeping your personal information private is more important than ever in the modern, informational era. There’s no reason for you to disclose your ID and financial info to third parties such as banks and financial institutions unless you absolutely have to. Also, numerous corporations that deal with the analysis of user data and shopping habits can attempt to use your information without your consent. These are some of the popular ways to retain anonymity while sending money on the internet.