An infrastructure and method for making online payments without the use of a credit card is disclosed. The infrastructure includes a prepaid technology module for receiving information related to a purchased pre-paid card. The prepaid technology module stores at least one of a PIN number and a serial number associated with a plurality of pre-paid cards. The infrastructure also includes a user interface for receiving information, from the consumer, related to the purchased pre-paid card, and a digital settlement network for receiving a purchase request from a consumer, the digital settlement network further for authenticating the purchased pre-paid card.