Benefits
Virtual Card benefits
Virtual Card provides the only method to manage virtual cards on your iPad™, iPhone®, or iPod touch®. Use Virtual Card as a convenient way to make mobile payments on the go or when shopping from home.
Virtual Card makes life easier by making the following scenarios possible.
Virtual Card makes life easier by making the following scenarios possible.
- Make payments when shopping or paying bills on your mobile device, over the phone, or by mail.
- Allow charges only for the amount you approve. Raise the card limit for a virtual card only when you intend to make a purchase.
- Prevent accidental charges for downloads or in-app purchases by anyone that uses your mobile device.
- Prevent accidental purchases by anyone that uses your computer or web browser.
- Allow charges only for the time period you choose. Set a limited expiration date and close virtual cards as soon as you no longer need them.
- Make purchases at a store when you've forgotten your wallet or credit card (the store must allow the use of a credit card number without the physical card).
- Look up the security code for a virtual card when required for verification purposes, e.g., when reusing a virtual card on Amazon.com or the iTunes Music Store.
Benefits of virtual card services
Using virtual cards protects your real credit card information, while providing all the ease and benefits of making purchases with your credit card. Charges to virtual cards are just like charges to your real credit card, and appear on your credit card statement.
Once a virtual card has been used at a merchant, it can only ever be used at that same merchant. If the virtual card number is stolen, the card will be declined when attempting to charge the card at another merchant.
If you are ever informed by a merchant that your credit card information was stolen, you can simply close the virtual card and use a new virtual card when making your next purchase.
Virtual cards from Bank of America and Citi Cards provide a specific spending limit and expiration date. That way, unlike with your real credit card, your virtual card can never be charged for more than the amount and time period you choose. If you make another purchase from the same merchant in the future, you can simply raise the virtual card limit or extend the expiration date.
Virtual cards can also be used for recurring payments for any bills that accept a credit card. As long as the virtual card has a remaining balance and has not expired, the card will remain open for charges. By generating a virtual card for the sum of all the recurring charges, the virtual card can be used repeatedly.
If you want to tightly control the amount that can be charged to your virtual card, you can make the spending limit only a small amount more than you need. When you need to make another charge, simply modify the virtual card to raise the spending limit above the required amount.
Once a virtual card has been used at a merchant, it can only ever be used at that same merchant. If the virtual card number is stolen, the card will be declined when attempting to charge the card at another merchant.
If you are ever informed by a merchant that your credit card information was stolen, you can simply close the virtual card and use a new virtual card when making your next purchase.
Virtual cards from Bank of America and Citi Cards provide a specific spending limit and expiration date. That way, unlike with your real credit card, your virtual card can never be charged for more than the amount and time period you choose. If you make another purchase from the same merchant in the future, you can simply raise the virtual card limit or extend the expiration date.
Virtual cards can also be used for recurring payments for any bills that accept a credit card. As long as the virtual card has a remaining balance and has not expired, the card will remain open for charges. By generating a virtual card for the sum of all the recurring charges, the virtual card can be used repeatedly.
If you want to tightly control the amount that can be charged to your virtual card, you can make the spending limit only a small amount more than you need. When you need to make another charge, simply modify the virtual card to raise the spending limit above the required amount.