What is a virtual credit card?

[alexdadude]

I've been looking around on the epassporte site, and as well as an actual physical visa debit card they are offering 'virtual visa cards'. I tried to look for an explanation as to what is this New one is, but the answer is nowhere!! Please explain it to me.

[may_annes]

I think this is the one that can be use when you have problem using your credit cards on purchasing over the internet. You can use your virtual credit card to purchase items from wherever country you are or your card is not accepted internationally.

[Ms_Margaret]

Originally Posted by alexdadude

I've been looking around on the epassporte site, and as well as an actual physical visa debit card they are offering 'virtual visa cards'. I tried to look for an explanation as to what is this New one is, but the answer is nowhere!! Please explain it to me.

Virtual credit cards, also known as substitute credit card numbers or controlled payment numbers, have already been around almost seven years but have never caught on despite being a free and effective layer of protection.

Here’s how they work. You sign up for the program (MBNA, Citibank, Discover and PayPal all have them.) and download their software. Enter your credit card info, and generate a new number whenever you want to make an online purchase.

Your actual account number will only be visible to you and your bank. The merchant never sees your number and can’t retain your information in his database. This way, hackers will only be able to see your temporary number, which will be useless to them.

[Xanthia Alysha]

A virtual credit card is a disposable payment card that can be used to make purchases or payments over the Internet. These cards provide inherent protection to cardholders, since the user is provided a new credit card number every time s/he makes a purchase on the Internet. This is why this card is sometimes also called the "single-use card numbers."