Following on from the closed topic which was originally intended to be about YouTube subscriptions - a place to chat about bargain subscription accounts set up via a VPN & accounts with links to countries outside the UK (e.g. Fineco or ICICI) which could possibly contribute to such dark arts 
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The BIN (first 6 digits).
Does the VPN trick work with YouTube? If so, how? @Rexx I hate the ever increasing YT ads on my TV but Iāll be damned if I pay Ā£10+ a month for my background noise generator
So with Argentine Tidal via VPN I used a Revolut card as usual and Tidal were fine with that, with the Indian YouTube it rejected it at the point of purchase. It never reached Revolut and Google confirmed it was due to the cards country of issuance, it then wouldnāt let me add a replacement card altogether. I assume they have different policies as when Tidal sent their email the other week they confirmed it used to be fine to pay with a foreign card but now it must be domestic. I have not looked into prepaid cards, Arnie, where would you recommend looking?
Depends on the country. Not all will provide them, certainly when Iāve looked for US ones it was generally a ānoā. Potentially some of the bitcoin cards might do e.g. some of those are issued in Singapore. For India, some the UK based Indian banks might do the trick.
I had enquired at ICICI Bank for this reason but tbh Iām not sure itāll circumnavigate the issue.
Iāll have to look into prepaid cards, Iām no expert.
I tried to top up an Amazon gift card in rupees once but Amazon closed down the Indian account Iād set up (this was to try & get Amazon Prime music I think 
)
I wonder if the Pockets prepaid from ICICI would do the trick? Says that existing ICICI customers can use their login to get it. But would an ICICI UK account work I wonder?
https://www.icicibank.com/personal-banking/bank-wallet/pockets/pockets
The number itās trying to SMS to is the ICICI balance enquiry number. Odd that itās failing for me on Lebara as they make a big thing of rates to India.
I think an ICICI account would avoid this issue as it says you can log in with your usual ICICI login. Iām wondering if thatās all youād need i.e. if the ICICI card has an Indian BIN?
I reckon the card wonāt have an Indian bin as itās uk branded current account (having that would probably cause issues using cash machines, perhaps even card payments in the uk) - but it might give you easier access to the pockets feature which should as it specifically refers to paying on Indian websites. This is all conjecture of course and no harm applying for the ICICI account and trying that on its ownā¦go on give it a try, I might join you for a laughā¦
Coincidentally I am with Lebara too but it only covers international calls, not texts!
Tempting. Surely some of the card collection people on here have gone done the ICICI route already? Fairly sure I saw it mentioned a while back.
Not sure if an Indian BIN would be a problem. Finecoās Euro card sports an Italian BIN and Iāve used it in the UK (granted in Euro ATMs). Also used it to buy some things on Amazon Germany.
Confusing about Lebara texts to India not working. The OH sends texts to her family in Australia and Iāve sent them to/from assorted European countries.
For YouTube I just used a vpn and an address generator and think this month due to the exchange rate I paid Ā£2 for YouTube family premium
Edit
Brilliant. I wonder why my first subscription payment in Rupees was declined a few years ago 
What currency is that there? ARS?
Yes itās ARS
I went ahead with Bankera out of interest @arnie7 - they came back with questions about any crypto related activity may interact with the account. Perhaps I shouldnāt have ticked that box! I thought it could be useful for the odd Kucoin withdrawal (another company based in LT I think)
Itās interesting that they donāt appear to be regulated by the FCA at all and it seems you can open a Bankera account from most countries worldwide, Fineco for example are on a temporary license with the FCA.
Did you take the plunge with ICICI?
Fineco are going ahead with registration here so will be FCA covered in due course.
I do wonder about the need for FCA registration to let UK folk open accounts. Historically we could open accounts anywhere. It was the EU that blocked its citizens from opening accounts in places not approved by them.
Havenāt gotten around to ICICI yet but itās on my to-do list.
I must admit Iāve never applied for an account before where it hasnāt at least referenced the FCA in the website footer. My application with Bankera is still pending for now.
As for Fineco, I do actually want to use them as my GIA provider but Iāll probably wait for the sign off before adding a decent amount of money on there. Rather save any hassle of transferring ownership etc if something crazy did happen.
As for ICICI - I checked my Google account set up with the India VPN originally, it all seems to have reverted back to being UK domiciled - so I would need to create a new account and update my Proton membership to do so - will leave it on the back burner until I hear of your experience with ICICI/Pockets
The EU doesnāt restrict peopleās bank account locations - having you been reading the European fairytales again?
Perhaps a line of discussion to veer away from folks
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Their deals include some international voice minutes not texts.
Texts can be sent to anywhere host network Vodafone can send them but are not inclusive in any monthly package (6p to 25p a text)
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Ah. So, if we add some cash outside the Lebara plan it will work?
On the outside EU business, Iām going by Lloyds and other closing accounts for expats resident in the EU a few years ago. Might be similar to UK banks largely excluding Americans from opening accounts due to reporting requirements.
Yeah thatās how I interpreted it, you would need to add credit. From what I can see on the Lebara app itās only letting me add Ā£5 so a bit of a gamble should the Pockets app hit another road blockā¦
I would say it could be used on holidays but I tend to pick up a local sim where possible if itās outside the EEA.