ČS is the first bank in the Czech Republic to offer a one-time virtual card

Česká spořitelna is the first bank in the Czech Republic to offer clients a one-time virtual card for online payments. After payment, this card will automatically expire, as well as if the client does not use it within 60 minutes, the bank announced.

A one-time virtual card reduces the risks of misuse of payment cards as a result of payments on unsecured e-shops, said Jan Hallich, head of payment solutions at Česká spořitelna. "We believe that every third user of George's mobile banking will try one of our virtual cards at the end of this year. Within five years, I expect the virtual cards to dominate over the plastic ones," he added.

A one-time virtual card is suitable, for example, in situations where clients do not have their own plastic payment card and need to shop online. Or they don't want to share their physical credit card information on an e-shop they don't trust. A typical example is shopping at an unproven online store, for example outside the EU, which does not use 3D Secure, and vice versa, added Juraj Pilka, who is in charge of payment cards at the savings bank.

The new one-time virtual card complements the savings bank's virtual card for permanent purchases. Spořitelna has been offering this virtual card since December 2020, and since then clients have created over 100,000 of them, while more than 67,000 are actively used.

"Disposable virtual credit cards are a popular product of a number of Fintech companies," said Cyrrus analyst Tomáš Pfeiler. According to him, ČS's move is thus an example of broader global trends, where traditional and established banks are trying to come up with innovative products in order to keep pace with Fintech's competition. In a world of growing cyber risks, the use of disposable virtual cards makes sense, especially for more prudent clients of various e-shops, he added.

Daniel Horňák from Patron called the virtual payment card the right step. According to him, Revolut, for example, has been offering it for a long time. In addition to Internet security, the advantage is also in immediate use without the need to receive a physical card.

Source: CTK
Photo: Česká spořitelna