Consider using virtual cards as your primary payment method if you have subscriptions to services like Uber Eats and Netflix or if you frequently sign up for free trials that require a credit card entry.
You can avoid having your real card number compromised by using virtual credit cards, which, in contrast to physical cards, produce transaction-protecting unique account numbers. Using a virtual card allows you to shop online or pay for subscriptions using a unique number, establish spending restrictions and expiration dates, lock or delete the card, and more—all without touching your real payment account.
(Consider this as distinct from digital wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay, which utilize your actual credit card number for transaction processing.)
Using a virtual card offers significant benefits
A virtual card makes it simple to cancel subscriptions or let your account lapse, which could lead to money savings. If you use a deactivatable or one-time virtual card to sign up for a free trial, for instance, and you neglect to cancel before the trial finishes, the transaction will not go through.
Just like that, deactivating your virtual card is an easy way to cancel an ongoing membership. Although the service can no longer charge you, it’s advisable to formally cancel with the subscription provider.
Yes, a virtual card can be useful for maintaining a subscription. You won’t have to worry about missing a single episode of your favorite show or food delivery because your multi-use virtual card number will remain valid even if the actual card linked with your account disappears, gets stolen, or expires.
A virtual card offers an additional layer of protection, which is obvious. We safeguard your actual credit card number in the event of data compromise. More importantly, no one can make purchases to your account if your virtual card is for one-time use only.
Where can I get a digital credit card?
With your real card, you can enroll in a virtual card with a variety of credit card providers. To add the card to a digital wallet and pay with it, you may need to use a browser extension or an app that either generates a one-time card number or gives you a code to enter at checkout. You can use virtual cards with American Express, Capital One, Citi, Mastercard, and Visa.
