Virtual Cards Explained

Virtual debit cards offer a secure and streamlined way to make online purchases.

Traditional chip-and-pin cards come with a single, permanent card number. To obtain a new number, you need to request a fresh card from your financial institution, which then needs to be physically delivered and activated before use.

The beauty of a virtual card is its immediacy. Once issued, they're ready for use, skipping the activation process that physical cards require.

On top of the flexibility to create and close virtual cards whenever you want, you get the added benefit of creating virtual cards for every new service you sign up for. 

This way, if a service you paid for with your virtual card is no longer needed, just close the virtual card and sleep easy knowing you can’t be charged. 

Consider the inconvenience of canceling a service for which your physical card is being billed. With numerous services linked to the same card, closing it becomes a significant hassle. 

This makes it so you have to be very careful with where you input your card number, or risk having to cancel the card – along with every service you have.

This is one of the primary reasons why virtual cards are gaining traction as the best way to pay for online services like SaaS subscriptions and free trials.

They’re especially useful for those one-off transactions on unfamiliar websites. Since the virtual card can be created and destroyed easily, even if the online store itself has weak security or worse yet, is a fraud itself, you don’t risk having additional charges billed to you after the initial purchase by simply getting rid of the card you used and making a new one in the same second.

How is buying stuff with a virtual card different from a physical card?

Purchasing with a virtual debit card is straightforward. 

The process is identical to how you’d purchase something with your physical card. 

Visit an online store, enter your virtual card details — card number, CVV, expiration date, and address—and proceed to checkout.

An important point: while the virtual card number is connected to your main billing account, merchants only see the virtual card number you used at checkout. Once your purchase is finalized, you can opt to disable the virtual card you used, preventing any subsequent charges and protecting against data breaches of the website on which you used it. 

To summarize, virtual cards offer:

• Easier expense management

• Cost-effectiveness

• Better security

Please note: Virtual cards are strictly for online use, and not every financial institution provides them.

If you're in search of a dependable financial partner for your that can issue physical and virtual debit cards, feel free to contact us at sales@weavepay.io.

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