Windscribe VPN now lets you pay in cash

Windscribe VPN has introduced a new feature that even its official announcement casts as not the greatest idea: Paying for its service in cash.

The Canadian company said customers who want complete privacy, or who otherwise need a "non-digital way to buy a VPN" can send cash to Windscribe through the mail.

"Cash avoids the usual payment trail," the announcement reads. "No card number. No PayPal account. No app store subscription. No bank statement politely documenting that you bought privacy and immediately created a receipt for it."

Cash will only be accepted as payment for one year of its Windscribe Pro plan, priced at $69. If there's a sale running at the time a user signs up, "it does not apply to cash payments," the company says. "Mailing cash is already enough of a side quest. Side quests do not get coupon stacking."

So the company isn't exactly encouraging users to pay in cash, and emphasizes that those who do will deal with the accompanying inconveniences. If the envelope with cash never makes it to them, there's no way for Windscribe to credit your account. If a user doesn't include their Windscribe username with the payment, they may not know which account should be credited.

Then there's the time element: Cash payments sent through the mail can be delayed by any number of factors, the company notes: "mail speed, customs, weather, handwriting quality, vibes, and the current mood of any of dozens of postal workers" so a user could wait days or weeks for their account to be credited.

And there will be no refunds for those who "choose envelope mode," Windscribe says, because "you have left the civilized land of checkout buttons and entered the kingdom of hope, stamps, and consequences."

Windscribe doesn't want your coins, checks gift cards or other non-paper currency. It will accept payments in USD, CAD, EUR, GBP, CHF, AUD, NZD, SEK, NOK, and even Zimbabwean dollars. Users who aren't sending U.S. dollars should be sure to check the exchange rate — and if you overpay, don't expect a refund: "We're not running a lemonade stand with a cute little cashbox full of quarters to give back to you."

Windscribe has instructions on how to pay cash for its VPN here. But the company really seems to prefer you not do so, and emphasizes that while there may not be a digital trail of your purchase, nothing is guaranteed to be completely private or untraceable.

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