Virtual cards: a seamless way to manage your business expenses

Virtual cards are categorized according to factors such as the nature of the issuing party, the number of times it is to be used and the desired expiry date.

• Virtual cards issued by banks: almost all traditional banks and finance management solutions offer virtual card options. Customers can request and receive virtual cards that, like physical cards, are attributed a card number, a Card Verification Value (CVV) and an expiry date. These numbers, codes and dates remain valid for a pre-determined period of time and the card holder can make purchases up to a pre-defined amount.

• Virtual cards issued by large retailers: companies like Nespresso, Fnac, Carrefour, Etam or Decathlon offer virtual cards that are not linked to bank accounts. They can be valid for just weeks or up to a year, and designed either for single-use or recurring purchases. The retailer proposes these services in collaboration with some banks.

• Virtual cards listed by multi-national e-commerce giants: some online stores have put in place their own payment methods. Amazon is among those to have launched its e-card to simplify payments on its own platform, although at time of writing this service is limited to the United States. Apple is another example of a tech multinational to have its own virtual payment card.

Whether it’s a Mastercard or a Visa card, a virtual card is used in exactly the same way as a traditional bank card. You can find your card number in the personal section of your online bank account and, when you want to make a purchase online, provide the same bank details as would a physical payment card. The payment procedure remains the same, regardless of whether the payment card is virtual or physical.

Qonto offers both virtual and physical Mastercards with all its online business accounts. Simply choose which cards you’d like for you and your employees and order them through your online account.

You can add your virtual Mastercard to your electronic wallet to simplify business payments and expenses.

A single use virtual card, (or e-carte bleue, as they are known in France) is a service connected to your bank card and which allows you to generate a short-lived, temporary card number when buying something online. Once the purchase is processed, the card number can never be used again. This payment method prevents your card number from being exposed on the internet and protects you from online bank fraud.

There are other protection solutions for online purchases, such as the 3D-Secure system. It is being used more and more widely and involves the card holder making a second purchase validation thanks to a code sent to his or her mobile phone.