What is a Virtual Credit Card? Virtual Credit Card Review

Introduction to Virtual Credit Cards

Virtual credit cards, also known as: virtual VISA credit cards, VISA virtual credit cards, VISA virtual cards, VISA international credit cards, task cards, game activation cards, PayPal activation cards, EB activation cards and iOffer activation cards, are products launched for users who do not have international credit cards or who are worried about the security of credit card payments and need to shop online abroad, activate various online accounts, recharge, etc.

Virtual credit card application process

First log in to the personal online banking, then select Virtual Card under My Account, then select Open Card, select the source account and follow the prompts. After successfully applying for the virtual card, the system will prompt CVV2, expiration date and other information.

Virtual Credit Card Types

1. Primary card type virtual card, used for independent and complete primary account, not dependent on physical credit card, such as CCB Dragon Card e-payment card;

2. Supplementary cards attached to physical cards, that is, supplementary virtual cards, such as Bank of China virtual credit card and CITIC online payment card. This type of credit card can apply for several virtual card accounts through one main card, and repayment and other operations are completed by the main card.

3. Mapped virtual cards, such as credit cards used for Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, HCE Cloud QuickPass, etc.

Virtual Credit Card Usage

1. Virtual credit cards can be bound to third-party payment platforms such as Alipay and WeChat. When shopping online, you can enter the virtual bank card number, cvV2 code, and SMS verification code to complete the payment;

2. Bind with Apple Pay and UnionPay QuickPass, and then you can make payments on POS machines with the UnionPay QuickPass logo.

Virtual Credit Card Top-up

The regulations of each virtual credit card service provider are different, but they can be divided into three categories: cash/cashless/prepaid cards.

1. For cash, you can use: WIRE TRANSFER (bank wire transfer), WESTERN UNION (Western Union), MONEY GRAM (MoneyGram), etc.

2. If you don’t have cash, you can use: E-CHECK (electronic check), CREDIT CARD (credit card);

3. Prepaid cards: PAYSAFE CARD, UKASH, CASHU, etc.

Advantages of virtual credit cards

1. Convenient and fast processing: There is no complicated procedure for customers to apply for this card, and they do not need to wait for a long time. They can get the card in a few minutes at least or at most ten minutes.

2. Universal use: You can pay for shopping on any international online website, such as registering domain names, purchasing space, purchasing game cards and software on American websites. Because this card is a pre-deposited VISA international credit card, merchants prefer this type of payment over ordinary physical credit cards because it has no credit security issues and merchants can receive 100% of the payment.

3. Safe and secure use: This card is a non-overdraft credit card, so there is no risk of malicious overdraft after the credit card information is submitted to others. At the same time, when using this card, customers can effectively avoid the leakage of private information. The validity period (expiration year and month) of the activated virtual credit card is one to two years, which well guarantees the security of the activated account (such as PayPal, EB, etc.).

4. Activate various accounts: This card can perfectly support the activation of PayPal accounts, EB transaction accounts, game accounts, various tasks and other international network accounts. This account can be any of the countries that support PayPal, international EB, online games and other network accounts. When you enter the step where you need to fill in a credit card during the activation process, this card can allow you to pass it smoothly. The account activated with this card has the same effect as the account activated with an ordinary physical international credit card.

5. According to customer needs: This card is a pre-deposited VISA international credit card. Customers can apply for different credit limits of USD from 1 USD to 500 USD according to their needs. This card is a standard VISA international credit card, including a 16-digit card number, expiration date and a 3-digit CSC/CVV2 code. Personal information such as name, phone number, address, etc. can be filled in according to customer needs when using it.

Disadvantages of Virtual Credit Cards

The biggest disadvantage of virtual credit cards is that there is no physical card, that is, no "magnet". Today, with the increasing security of the Internet, most merchants have begun to require customers to provide scanned copies of the credit cards they use and sign a credit card security agreement. For users of virtual credit cards, this is obviously impossible to provide, and they are faced with having no money to pay. However, the reliability is questioned by the merchants, so before using it, you need to ask the merchant whether it accepts virtual credit cards to avoid inconvenience.

policy

In April 2013, Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank and Alibaba jointly launched the industry's first virtual credit card product - Trustbao, which attracted widespread attention in the Internet industry and the credit card market.

In March 2014, the central bank issued a document to urgently stop offline barcode (QR code) payments and virtual credit cards. The document pointed out that the relevant departments of the central bank headquarters will conduct an overall assessment of the compliance and security of such businesses.

Amazon

In January 2017, Amazon required new registered users to use a real credit card, otherwise they would not be able to register.

References

• 1. The central bank urgently stopped QR code payment and virtual credit cards: Tencent Technology [cited on 2014-03-14]