What are virtual cards and when should you use them?

Let’s be real, sometimes suspicious online websites have the best deals or the items we need. When you feel hesitant about entering your card information, you could benefit from using a virtual card — not to be confused with a digital wallet. 

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In observation of Financial Literacy Month, Google shared ways users can keep their payment information protected using Google Pay, and, unsurprisingly, virtual cards made the list due to their ability to protect your card information easily and efficiently. 

So what are virtual cards?

A virtual card is a unique credit card number you can enter on a site to complete a transaction. The technology masks your actual card information, keeping it hidden from businesses, and helps protect you against fraud.

Some virtual cards expire after every transaction, so if anyone accesses your card information, that number would be useless to them. Other virtual cards, like Google Pay, have a longer duration. 

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The perk of these cards is that if someone steals the payment information, you can cancel the virtual card instead of the entire account. Once you cancel the virtual account, the thief no longer has access to your credit card, and you can still use and keep your original card and card number. 

Creating a virtual card is free and easy, and there are multiple ways to do so, regardless of the type of phone, browser, or card you use. 

How can you create a virtual card?

Google Pay 

One way to create a virtual card is using Google Pay. When you checkout from Chrome desktop or mobile, if you have an eligible American Express, Capital One, or Citi card, you are given the option to save your card as a virtual card. 

Then, every time you autofill your card information using Google Play, your virtual card information will be input automatically. If you don’t use Google Pay, no worries, there are other options. 

Your credit card 

Many major credit card companies offer virtual cards within their platform to users free of charge, including American Express, Capital One, Mastercard, or Citi. For example, as a Citibank credit card holder, I can go into the app and generate a virtual card number simply by clicking the quick action when I open the app. 

I often use this feature when I try to place an online order, am nowhere near my wallet, need to enter my credit card information, and have no desire to get up. While this use case isn’t intended, it’s a big plus.

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CNET has a comprehensive list of the best credit cards with virtual card numbers. You can cross-reference this list to see if your card is included. You can also see credit cards that offer a virtual option that you might want to consider in the future. 

Third-party payment sites

Many popular third-party payment sites offer virtual cards, including Wise, Stripe, and PayPal. These cards function differently and require you to open an account within the third-party app. However, you can choose what funds get added to that card and create a separation between your personal account and your virtual card. 

For example, with the PayPal Debit Card, you can spend your PayPal balance online and in stores. You can load money onto that card from an eligible bank account or debit card. This approach gives you control over how much money someone can access if the payment information is stolen and it’s easier to cancel the account if needed.