I don't see what was evasive, happy to answer in more detail if there's something you're seeing not answered above. We use Stripe as a credit card processor -- so we have what Stripe's (very well documented) APIs provide. That reveals that you purchased the service, but we don't know anything about the network identity you have nor your Internet usage, because architecturally we don't have that information.
I understand that revealing that information to Stripe may not be acceptable -- not sure what to say to that. We've gotten requests for other forms of payments and we can consider it, but we don't support anything other than credit cards at the moment. (There are credit cards that aren't linked to a person, if that's a better option.)
No. All payment cards in the United States require strong government identity and KYC, per US federal law. To activate these cards you must provide identity information. Providing false information is a crime.
No. Gift cards can be purchased in-person in the US, with cash. Said gift cards are activated at the register upon purchase. These can then be gifted to someone else, and further activation (or registering your personal information with the card) is not required.
Edit: I just checked the Visa gift card issuer's site for a card I have (and never had to activate or provide personal information to), and for shopping online it just says:
>In the Payment Method section, enter the Card information as you would a credit or debit card. In the Billing Address section, fill in your name and address.
So when I check out online, I can enter any information that I like, presumably as long as it ties back to a valid address of some kind - there is zero effort on the part of the card issuer to verify that I am who I say I am. I would only need a PIN when making purchases with it as a debit card in-person. I should make it clear that I'm not saying that providing false information is legal, just that the point about being required to provide "strong government identity" to activate gift cards has been false for a long time.
Ive never been asked for ID to buy a gift card in USA. I thought Europe was once renowned for it's strong financial privacy laws? my, things have changed.
I understand that revealing that information to Stripe may not be acceptable -- not sure what to say to that. We've gotten requests for other forms of payments and we can consider it, but we don't support anything other than credit cards at the moment. (There are credit cards that aren't linked to a person, if that's a better option.)