Few hundred years back, we forced to carry a lot of precious stones and gold to barter. Around the 1950s, modern retailers came along and introduced a lot of incentives to make exchange and shopping methods easier.
That eventually leads to the making of the currency system and establishing many laws and regulations. However, due to the demonetization and fast-paced lifestyle, paper currency and checks started losing their worth and got replaced by credit and debit cards.
Now, in the present-day banking system, Virtual Credit Cards (VCC) has become the first choice of all the consumers and are considered to be the best substitute to cash amount and physical credit cards.
Virtual Credit Cards or Virtual Credit Card Numbers (VCN) powered by the MasterCard that typically used to manage online purchasing.
There is no doubt in the statistic that cash amount and debit cards have a massive back brace, but still, they are not speedy enough and host a myriad of challenges in the prevailing economic system.
No wonder they have revolutionized the inter-bank system and increased the rate at which one sends and receives the payment. However, internet banking and pseudo cards have taken the shopping experience to the next level that could never be made possible with formerly adopted technologies and systems.
In comparison to the credit cards, the virtual credit card designed to provide a much better, secure, and equally more comfortable shopping experience.
When you use physical credit cards, you are required to enter and re-enter the same information every time you want to purchase anything online. This section includes information such as name, card number, expiration date, and the security code printed on the credit card to verify the user’s authenticity.
However, the procedure is extra simple and makes it vulnerable to hacking and stealing. On the other hand, virtual credit cards use dynamic verification methods that enable you to store your data permanently.
Notably, most of the online retailers have established a separate customer’s payment section. It not only makes the shopping procedure convenient but also makes sure the safety of the personal data too. Let us get to the nitty-gritty of the topic and how you can get free virtual credit cards for businesses quickly.
ORDER YOUR VIRTUAL CREDIT CARD
Like regular credit cards, banks also offer free virtual credit cards for businesses as well as for daily use. There are two ways to order virtual credit cards. First, you can get it from your bank, or if the bank does not offer online services, then you can also use your regular credit card by linking it with the online services of a third-party bank that provides such services.
Unfortunately, not all banks give access to virtual credit cards (VCC). In the United States, only three banks propose virtual payment methods, including Citibank, Bank of America, and Capital One.
Luckily, their application procedures are much simpler than many other banking procedures out there. If you have a Citi card, then all you have to do is get yourself enrolled on its website and generate your virtual credit card number (VCN).
In the case of Capital One, all the cardholders have easy access to Eno that is the name of their online services. It makes you go through an easy signup procedure and, in the end, give the user full access to their online platforms and services.
However, Bank of America has made a slightly tricky procedure. Firstly, the VCC services are not offered to all the bank users but only to those who have “America Visa” and “MasterCard.”
Apart from these banks, several third-party services offer virtual credit card services. Among them, Entropy is the best one because it enables you to create virtual and temporary cards without making you pay any charges. Another well-regarded service named ‘Final,’ which is a third-party service provider acting as a buffer between VCC holder and bank.
Additionally, you can set the expiry date according to your convenience; however, the spending limit is similar to your regular credit card that linked with the VCC.
VIRTUAL CREDIT CARDS CAN SAVE YOU FROM ONLINE FRAUD
Why get a virtual credit card when you can easily use your regular credit card for both online and offline purchasing? Isn’t it another fancy item that has no practical use? Well, this is not true because Virtual Credit Cards do not only make your online shopping venture extra smooth but also help in making it safe and secure.
With regular credit cards, you are safe to shop at online platforms like Amazon, eBay, Walmart, AliExpress, and Costco.com, but when it comes to new and unknown business sites, then entering your credit information is a dangerous thing to do.
In most cases, you do not know if they have adopted the security parameters or not, and even if their business is legal. Still, there is no surety that they can deal with the bugs and hacks in the most effective way.
However, with the virtual credit cards, the risk factor goes down significantly as they allow you to have a safe and protected shopping experience.
VIRTUAL CREDIT CARDS DO ALSO HAVE A NEGATIVE SIDE
One of the most significant aspects of these temporary card services is that they secure the online business most effectively. However, this very fact has its downside too. It can only be used for online purchasing and cannot use in physical stores.
No wonder VCC promises a secure shopping experience, but still, there is some risk involved. With counterfeit cards, the buyer is transferring the payment in advance before even receiving the purchased item. It eventually makes the buyer vulnerable to fraudulent sellers and services because, in such settings, the buyer has already transferred the payment and has no choice but to wait for the delivery.
Thirdly, it can get inconvenient sometimes because if the service provider is unable to send the ordered item, then the buyer is required to collect his or her payment from the physical store. According to the policy, the amount cannot be transferred back to the sender through an online portal.
However, apart from these stumbling blocks, Virtual Credit Cards offer a wholesome shopping experience.
MAKE SURE TO CONSIDER THESE THINGS BEFORE APPLYING FOR A VCC
Before ordering your Virtual Credit Card, make sure to consider the following things. First, and the most crucial thing is that You are not holding a huge debt on your physical credit card, you have not applied for any credit or debit cards most recently, your intention to use this service is clear and well defined.
It does not cost you much, and finally, it can make a positive difference in your lifestyle and business. If you are already trying to pay your debt on existing credit cards, then getting a new one will make the situation worse. Secondly, by ordering multiple credit cards in the same timeline can cause you to damage your credit score.
Another point is that, if you already have debt on your credit cards, make sure to get it generated from the platforms that are likely to offer lower interest rates and higher financing profits.
CONCLUSION
To streamline your shopping experience, make sure to generate your Virtual Credit Card for online platforms, and combine it with the most multi-purpose physical credit cards. Only in this way, you can experience a safe online shopping and smooth offline purchasing experience.