Cards have gained wide acceptance as they help facilitate payments between vendors and customers. Usually, a card is a plastic material with a shiny square compartment that gives you unrestricted access to your account for a plethora of transactions.
Although these cards can work globally, the majority of them are restricted to certain geographical zones; making it difficult to facilitate international transactions such as paying for online ads and shipping costs.
Unlike normal cards, a virtual card (in dollars) allows you to make a myriad of transactions online and offline. However, in this context, we will focus on how to create a virtual card for Facebook and Instagram ads payments. But before we get into our core topic, let’s properly discuss the virtual card.
What is A Virtual Card?
A virtual card is like any other card you use for your transactions. However, the major difference lies in the fact that you cannot print this card – it is not a physical card. And of course, your virtual card has to be linked to your bank account.
On a virtual card, you will find the same sixteen-digit numbers beside the Card Verification Value (CVV) number at the back of the card. You can use virtual cards for many online transactions, including Facebook and Instagram ads.
Features Of a Virtual Card
A virtual card has many features that make it unique and has made it gain wide acceptance in the global market. Some of the core features of this card include:
Cannot Be Stolen
Virtual cards cannot be stolen. They’re not physically printed, and whoever desires to use your card needs to have access to your mobile device.
Hence, with the difficulty or impossibility of stealing it, it makes the card 100% secure.
Works On Online Purchases
Virtual cards basically work on online purchases. And with more ecommerce and information stores opening online, you can purchase goods and services from all over the world.
All you need to do would be to input your card details in the section of the payment options, and it will complete your transaction.
Prepaid Card
Virtual cards are prepaid cards, hence you don’t need to bother about borrowing. Before you use your virtual card, ensure it has the required funding.
Pros & Cons of Virtual Card
A virtual dollar card can be beneficial to you and can also be a liability in certain situations. With this knowledge, you would know situations wherein a virtual card can play a vital role.
| Pros | Cons |
| Protects Banking Information | Many small businesses don’t accept virtual cards |
| Gives You Limited Spending Options | Temporary |
| Has Global Acceptance | Can’t serve as a form of physical verification |
How To Create a Virtual Card
Creating a virtual card is actually the core aspect of this article. But the truth remains; there’s not a single way to create a virtual dollar card, as different platforms have their own unique procedure. Your choice of a platform will depend on their rates and other attractive features they might have.
So, you can keep reading as the next section will intimate you with platforms wherein you can create virtual cards that will make your transactions easier.
Platforms That Offer Virtual Cards
If you’ve always wanted to get a virtual card, you need to use the right platforms. There are so many platforms wherein you can create a virtual card, but some of them offer increased value and services. Hence, the best of these platforms include:
Barter by Flutterwave
Barter is a virtual dollar card created by Flutterwave. This platform works in partnership with VISA, and their recent merger with PayPal has further made international transactions easier.
You can use the barter virtual cards for your online shopping, international transactions, and pay for Facebook and Instagram ads.
To get your Barter card, you would need to start and complete the registration process. Don’t worry, it’s pretty easy and doesn’t stress you a lot. And you will complete it successfully following the steps which include:
- Download App
- Complete Verification Stage
- Finish the KYC (Know Your Customer) stage
- Fund Your Barter Account
- Select ‘create a new card’
- Choose a multi-function card (for more transactions)
- Fund Dollar Card
ALAT by Wema
ALAT is a digital bank solely run by one of the commercial banks in Nigeria. Similar to other bank application, ALAT helps you open an account and run many transactions. However, the added advantage of helping you create a virtual dollar card gives it an edge.
If you want to use ALAT, you would need to create an account with Wema Bank besides the following, which include:
- Download the Application from either Apple Store or Google Playstore
- Login to “ALAT”
- Go to Cards
- Click on “ALAT Dollar Card”.
- “Create a New Card”
- Complete subsequent information and proceed
Wallet Africa
Wallet Africa is a place where small businesses can create current accounts without the excessive paperwork requirements that other banks give.
With the mobile application, you can get instant account statements and virtual and physical cards. To get a virtual dollar card, you need to;
- Download the Wallet Mobile App and open an account
- Fund your wallet
- Tap on “Cards”
- Tap on “Create your card…”
- Then fund your dollar card
Eyowo
Funding virtual cards come at a minimum cost for many of these platforms, but Eyowo is building a new narrative by making it possible for users to fund their dollar card with $1.
This feature has made it gain traction among small and medium business owners whom seldomly execute light transactions.
To create your dollar card using this platform, you need to:
- Visit or Download the Website
- Complete registration with your phone number
- Go To Dashboard, Click “More” and Select “Eyowo Dollar Cards”
- Input funding amount and name you want to be printed on the card
- Click “Create card”
Eversend
Eversend has its core focus hinged on making transactions in Africa efficient. Their mobile-only banking services allow you to exchange, save, send and receive money instantly within and outside Africa.
The application has exceptional functionalities and promises you an opportunity to execute different transactions easily.
To create or get your virtual dollar card on Eversend, you need to:
- Download the Eversend mobile application
- Go to “Cards” at the bottom of the page
- Click on “Create New Card”
- Fund account with a minimum of $5
- Input PIN to confirm the transaction
- Use the “Add money” feature to fund the card
Spectrocard
SpectroCard is a platform wherein you create virtual prepaid MasterCard.These MasterCard could be naira cards or dollar cards depending on the situation.
Getting a dollar card on this platform is possible following the steps that include:
- Create an account with SpectroCard
- Verify your account via email
- Update personal information
- Fund your account
- Create card
Conclusion
Virtual dollar cards help you make payments for local and international transactions with ease. You can use for it for your online shopping and even for running Facebook and Instagram promotions.
A virtual card has its sixteen digits numbers and a CVV like every other card, but you can’t print it out and it cannot be used for verification.
If you want to create a virtual dollar card, you can’t do it without the right technology. And you can find this technology among several platforms listed within this article.
