Online Bank Accounts With an Instant Virtual Debit Card (2024)

Revolut—Single-Use and Multi-Use Virtual Cards

Revolut is a global financial technology company based in the U.K. It’s also an all-in-one money management app that allows users to transfer, spend, and save money, transact internationally, and trade stocks and cryptocurrencies.

The Revolut app enables its users to create virtual cards effortlessly and use them immediately, with no activation needed^[10].

Features and Security

Revolut account owners can generate two types of virtual cards:

1. Single-use—A disposable virtual card whose numbers re-generate after each use
2. Multi-use—A virtual card that can be used more than once

Each user can have a maximum of one single-use card, and they can generate five card details per day^[11]. When it comes to multi-use cards, users can create five new cards every 30 days if they’re from the U.S.^[12]. To use the cards in physical stores and other locations, the cardholder can connect them to Apple Pay or Google Pay^[13]. The cards can also be frozen and unfrozen for safety reasons^[14].

Revolut employs various security measures to protect users’ accounts from unauthorized access and use, some of which include:

• Multi-factor authentication via a PIN, biometrics, or SMS one-time passcode when logging in^[14]
• Transaction verification through the app^[14]
• Confirmation requests when attempting to send money to a new recipient and warnings in case Revolut identifies the recipient as a potential threat^[14]

Setup and Pricing

After opening a Revolut account, the user can access the virtual card order form in the app by going to the “Cards” tab and then selecting “Get card” and “Virtual card”^[10]. Unlike with Wise, the virtual cards are not tied to physical cards, so the user can request them independently.

Virtual cards are included in the Standard free plan. For U.S. accounts, the first virtual card is free, while the additional cards cost $4.99 each^[15].

Pros and Cons

Take a look at the Revolut virtual cards’ pros and cons:

American Express—The Amex Virtual Card Number

American Express is a renowned card issuer and online-only bank offering a wide range of personal, banking, and corporate cards and programs, including a virtual card service.

With the Amex virtual card number, cardholders can create a digital version of their payment card that masks the original card number during transactions and add it to their Google accounts^[16].

Features and Security

Provided that the vendor accepts Amex payments, users can shop online with their Amex virtual card numbers:

• On desktop using Google Chrome^[16]
• On Android mobile devices^[16]
• In select Android apps^[16]

For each payment, Amex will auto-populate the virtual card information at checkout^[16]. The card can be used only for one-time payments^[16].

Within their account, the cardholder can suspend, resume, or delete their virtual cards, as well as disenroll their physical cards to disable the service^[16].

Amex’s general security measures include a fraud monitoring system with alerts^[17] and SafeKey^®, a one-time code sent to the user’s mobile device or email to confirm their identity when making a purchase^[18].

Setup and Pricing

To obtain the Amex virtual card, the user must enroll an existing physical card, save it in their Google account, and then toggle on the virtual card feature^[16]. They can do so via their desktop or mobile device at checkout, in the Google Chrome settings, or by adding the card to Google Pay^[16]. At checkout, the user should select the virtual card as their payment method from the drop-down menu.

The user can enroll their physical card only if it’s eligible and in good standing. Most Amex cards are compatible with this service, with a few exceptions like prepaid cards, Buyer-Initiated Payment, and Business Travel Account programs^[16].

Pros and Cons

Some of the pros and cons of the Amex virtual card include:

Zil—Instant Virtual Card for Businesses

Zil is a cloud-based online platform offering banking and financial management services. While the services cover both personal and business needs, Zil offers an array of features tailored to businesses.

Zil’s virtual cards are primarily oriented toward businesses^[19]. Employers can create virtual cards instantly^[20] and distribute them to employees, allowing them to pay vendors and suppliers safely^[19].

Features and Security

With Zil, employers can create multiple virtual cards for various purposes and manage them within a single account. They can customize the spending limits for each card with interval controls for daily, weekly, and monthly use^[19] to control each employee’s budget, as well as set merchant categories^[19]. The virtual cards can also be temporarily locked^[20] or closed^[19].

For contactless in-person payments, the employer can link the virtual cards to Google Pay or Apple Pay^[21]. They can also use Zil’s virtual card API to integrate the feature into their payment software and use it without logging into Zil each time^[19].

When it comes to fraud prevention, Zil takes the following precautions:

• One to One verification of each customer before approval^[22]
• Monitoring of ACH transactions and restriction of those with insufficient documentation^[22]
• Fraud scores for accounts and blocking of those with low scores^[22]

Setup and Pricing

New Zil users can enjoy the convenience of opening an online bank account with an instant virtual debit card^[23]. Upon account creation, they can add and manage virtual cards from their account settings^[19]. When requesting a new card, the user has to fill in the card label and billing address, select the spending limit, and determine the time span of the card^[19]. After confirming the details, the card should be instantly ready for use^[19].

Like all other Zil cards, the virtual cards don’t require a minimum deposit, an initial fee, or a maintenance fee^[24].

Pros and Cons

The following table sums up the pros and cons of Zil’s virtual cards: