Are you worried about revealing about privacy and identity of your Credit Card, or you do not know the trustworthiness of your service provider? Do You want to purchase something unanimously and restrict your credit card for any further recurring payments? Here in this article, we will discuss how to create a free virtual Credit Card in India and some best free virtual credit card (VCC) in India for International Payments.

 

Credit Card fraud is very common news nowadays, every day you will find the story of credit or debit card fraud in all newspapers. Knowingly or unknowingly, we are committing some mistakes while doing any banking transactions online. Most of us don’t know How to use our Credit or Debit Card safely and securely in Online Banking transactions. If the transactions are from any unknown international e-commerce websites or vendors, then we have to be highly vigilant while revealing any secure card details.

In our earlier article, we have discussed How to create a free Virtual Debit Card in India for International transactions, if you still not read the article then, you can read it here.

Today, every bank has introduced several measures to protect their customers from any online Banking Transaction frauds, they send several SMS or emails so that you can secure your hard-earned monies from these fraudsters. But these fraudsters still find their ways to steal your money from your account.

What is a Virtual Credit Card or VCC Card?

There is a basic difference between a Debit and a Credit Card, which we confused every time. In Debit Card, we can pay if we have the required money in our Debit Card linked bank account, and in Credit card, the card-issuing Banks provide us a certain limit up to which we can pay or use. Credit Card is a kind of loan, where Card issuing Banks charges interest after a certain period of time. The period varies from 30 to 45 days depending upon these card-issuing banks and the rate of interest also is very high, including late payment charges.

The Credit Card only provides to those people, who have a high net worth and regular source of income. Everyone cannot get the Credit Card and it depends solely on the card-issuing Banks.

The Virtual Credit Card (VCC) is a kind of temporary randomly generated card number linked to your actual Credit Card and it can be generated only once. We literally can not create a Virtual Credit Card online if we do not have an actual Credit Card, we need an actual credit card if we want to create a Virtual Credit Card Online in India.

If you already have a Credit Card from any Credit card issuing Bank in India and if you have access to the Internet Banking facility, then only you can generate a Virtual Credit Card in India.

In Virtual Credit Card, a temporary randomly generated Card number, expiry date, and CVV will be generated through Internet Banking, and no other details will be available to the cardholder.

The basic features of all Virtual Credit Card from any card issuing Banks are more or less the same. Here I am giving you some features of Virtual Credit Card (VCC) which is mostly offered by Indian Banks.

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Key Features of Virtual Credit Card (VCC) in India

• You can create any number of Virtual Credit Card free if you have an actual credit card with NetBanking access.
• The VCC will destroy itself within 24 to 48 hours of issuance, therefore the chances of misuse of Virtual Credit Card is minimal.
• The Virtual Credit Card is generally generated with a maximum fixed upper limit or whatever limit you want to set up to the maximum credit limit.
• The Virtual Credit card can be used only once, after that the card will be auto-destroyed.
• The Virtual Credit Card transactions will separately show in your credit card monthly statements.
• VCC cards can not be used for subscription-based websites where recurring payment is required. Most Virtual Credit Cards in India cannot be used for any international transactions on popular websites like Netflix, Amazon, Play console, or PlayStation.
• A virtual Credit card can only be used for single online transactions.
• A Virtual Credit Card can be a Visa, Mastercard, or Rupay depending on the Card Issuing Banks.
• Any unused amount or refund from merchant websites will be added back to your actual credit card limit.

Note: Virtual Credit Card (VCC) can be identified by BIN (Bank Identification Number) which is the first eight digits of the Card number. Most of the popular international subscription websites where we have to register our credit card for making any purchase, stop accepting Virtual Credit Card.

Therefore, instead of using a virtual Credit Card, you can create virtual debit cards that are international transaction enabled.

Key points to be remembered before using a Virtual Credit Card or VCC Card in India

• You have to utilize your VCC card within 24 hours of its generation.
• No EMI facility is available on Virtual Credit Card.
• Offers and other benefits of the original credit card will not be applicable to Virtual Credit Card.
• No separate billing cycle will be available to you, it clubbed with your original credit card.
• It can only be used for online transactions.

There is a basic difference between a Virtual Credit Card and a Virtual Debit Card or a Virtual Prepaid Card. Some Banks or Apps offer the free creation of a Virtual Prepaid card which is linked to your primary Bank Account and the amount of your transaction from the virtual debit card will get debited instantly from your linked account. For example, Kotak Netc@rd or the State of India virtual card, where you can create a free Preloadable virtual Debit card from their NetBanking website, but the Bank will make a hold on the amount which you would like to set as the Virtual Card Limit. You can not use the hold amount until your Card gets destroyed itself.

For the Virtual Credit Card, you need an actual credit card to generate a VCC card online in India. You will get your VCC card statements consolidated with your actual credit card statements after the completion of the billing cycle.

(Please remember, that most of the popular Banks have stopped providing Virtual Credit Card services in India. In Place of Virtual Credit Cards, RBI is now introducing a new channel for Card-on-file tokenization (CoFT), which is more secure and convenient than VCC. CoF tokens can be created directly at the card issuer bank level, which means that the cardholders can get separate tokens linked to their existing Credit Card for various merchant websites.)

It is advisable to use a Virtual Debit Card instead. Many banks charge zero Forex Markup fees and can be used for recurring payments using UPI Mandate. Whereas bank charges hefty forex markup fees for using the VCC on international transaction.

List of Best Free Virtual Credit Card Providers in India

Here’s the list of some Best Free Virtual Credit Card in India

Here are the best Virtual Credit Card available in India now

1. HDFC Bank Netsafe Card:

HDFC Bank is the most popular and number one credit card provider in India. HDFC Bank also has the option for the creation of a Virtual Credit Card for its customers. HDFC Bank’s Netsafe VCC card can be used on any online shopping website and international transactions are enabled.

Features:

• HDFC Bank Netsafe Virtual Credit Card is completely free and easy to generate.
• International Transaction enabled.
• The consolidated monthly statement with your actual Credit Card.
• Any number of Virtual Credit Card (VCC) can be generated. A maximum of 5 virtual cards can be created in a day.
• VISA or MasterCard depending on your actual Credit Card Type.

How to Generate HDFC Bank Netsafe card

1. Go to the HDFC Bank Netsafe Card registration Page. You can also visit here. Click on Register.
2. Accept the Terms and Conditions and provide your Original Credit Number and Expiry Date and click on Submit.

3. A new window will open, you have to provide some details of your Credit Card like DOB, Credit Card CVV2/CVC2 or ATM PIN, Registered Mobile Number, etc., and click on the Submit button. An OTP will be generated to your Registered email ID and mobile number.

4. Provide your Virtual Credit Card Limit and Click on Go. Again an OTP will be generated to your registered mobile. After submitting the OTP, your HDFC Bank Netsafe Virtual Credit Card will be generated.

Register Your HDFC Bank Netsafe VCC card. (Official Bank Website)

HDFC Bank Virtual RuPay Credit Card

HDFC Bank has another virtual credit card creation option, i.e. Virtual RuPay Credit Card. HDFC Bank Virtual RuPay Credit Card can be created online only, if you are an existing Credit Card customer of HDFC Bank. You can use this RuPay  Virtual Credit on any online shopping site, even linked to the UPI App like GPay, PhonePe, or Paytm, and use it as “Scan & Pay ” at selected merchant outlets. The RuPay Virtual Card limit will be the existing limit of the HDFC Card. For details on HDFC RuPay Virtual Credit Card on UPI, visit here. The joining of this Virtual Credit Card is ₹99.

To Create an HDFC Bank Virtual RuPay Credit Card, you have to visit the MyCards section. On submitting register your mobile number and authenticate the OTP, you will find an option like this on the next page.

Click on the digital RuPay Card icon, on the next page follow the steps, and authenticate the existing card details with either  NetBanking, Debit Card, or Credit Card details. The Virtual Credit Card will be generated instantly. You can manage and view the RuPay Virtual Card details in the Card Control section of MyCards.

To generate Virtual RuPay Credit Card from HDFC Bank visit here.

2. ICICI Bank Virtual Credit Card:

ICICI Bank Credit cards are the second most popular credit card in India. You can also create ICICI Bank Virtual Credit Card from its Internet Banking websites.

The ICICI Bank virtual credit card is not a VCC card actually, it is a kind of Add-on card that is virtual in nature. As it is an Add-on type of virtual credit card, you can not create the card by yourself, you need to contact ICICI Bank for virtual card eligibility. You can create a free virtual card from its mobile wallet App named Pocket by just installing the App. The Virtual card which will be generated from there will be Visa powered but can be used only on Indian merchant websites.

Features:

• Virtual Credit Card is Visa-based and Add-on in nature.
• The Virtual Credit Card is free of cost and international transactions are enabled.
• The billing cycle of the virtual credit card is the same as a primary credit card.
• The maximum limit of the VCC card is the overall limit of your actual Credit Card.

How to Create ICICI Bank Virtual Credit Card

To create an ICICI Bank Virtual Credit Card, Log on to your ICICI Bank Net Banking Account.

Go to Credit Card Tab>Click on Virtual Credit Card> Fill UP your Details

Updates: ICICI Bank no longer provides Virtual Credit Card, however, you can create an eGift Card. To create a free eGift Card from ICICI Bank, Visit here.

To create an eGift card from ICIC Bank, you have to visit the ICICI bank branch. The VCC card is prepaid in nature with a validity of more than one yeards.

3. AXIS Bank Purchase Control Virtual Card

Axis Bank also provides two types of free Virtual Credit cards, Purchase Control Virtual Card for corporate customers and Axis Bank Freecharge Credit Card for individuals. The Purchase Control Virtual Card, helps you to create a unique Virtual Account number and enables you transaction-level authorisations. Every transaction will assigned with transaction-level control. To create an Axis Bank Purchase Control Virtual Card, you need to contact the Axis Bank Branches.

 

Features:

• Instantly create a virtual credit card, no need for the physical card.
• A unique virtual number will be assigned with each transaction.
• Every transaction is assigned authorization control at the transaction level with 27 customizable fields.
• Individual payments can be tracked or blocked with greater control.
• Minimise fraud, and misuse of company funds, or reduce non-compliant employee spending.

You can create a Purchase Control Virtual Credit Card online after registering your Credit Card details on Axis Bank’s branch. For more details visit here. Please remember that the Purchase Control Virtual Card is available to Corporate Business Credit Card customers only.

The other type is the Axis Bank Freecharge Virtual Card, which is a co-branded Credit card with Freecharge. You can apply for the Axis Bank Freecharge credit card from the Freecharge App, and if the Credit Card criteria are fulfilled, you will be provided a Virtual Credit Credit from Axis Bank, in collaboration with Freecharge.

It is a complete and regular type of credit card and is virtual in nature. At the time of making payments from the Freecharge app, or any other payment gateway, just select the Freecharge Virtual Card number, CVV, and other details for payment authorization. For details on Axis Bank Freecharge VCC, you can visit here.

4. Kotak Netc@rd:

Kotak Bank is the best digital bank in India and you can create a virtual account at Kotak 811 by installing their mobile banking app.

Kotak Netc@rd is the best virtual credit in this list if you want to purchase a subscription on some popular subscription-based websites like Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. The Kotak Net card is a Visa-powered single-use card that can be generated from Kotak Bank’s Internet banking portal.

Kotak Netc@rd is one of the few not 3D-secured Virtual Cards in India that can be used in international merchant websites where Visa accepts. The amount you want to create as a limit will get blocked until the expiry of the VCC.

Features:

• Single-use Virtual Cards can be used within 48 hours of creation.
• Free of cost and with International transactions enabled, you can use Kotak Netc@rd Virtual Credit Card to purchase a Netflix subscription.
• The Virtual Card is Visa-powered.
• The Maximum limit of a Virtual Card is Rs. 100000 and the minimum limit is Rs.100.

How to generate Kotak Netc@rd VCC Card in India

You need a Kotak Bank account to create a Kotak Netc@rd online, if you don’t have you can create a free zero-balance digital bank account with only PAN and Aadhaar card. Here are the steps to create Kotak Netc@rd

1. Login to your Kotak Bank Online Banking Account. Click on the More Tab, and in the Dropdown menu you will find the Net card option.

2. An OTP will be generated to your registered mobile number. Authenticate the OTP and fill up the desired details like name, VCC limit, etc., and click on submit. The Virtual Card will be generated.

For more details on Kotak Bank Virtual Credit Card visit here. (Official Website Link)

5. SBI Virtual Credit Card:

SBI also provides a VCC card to its customers and you can generate it easily from the SBI Official Internet Banking Website. The SBI Virtual Card or eCard is generally prepaid in nature, which means banks will create a hold on your savings account for the amount that you want to create as a VCC card.

Features:

1.  The Virtual Card is Primarily Visa powered. (MasterCard-powered VCC card can also be extended, check the bank website for details.)
2. The Card is not international transaction enabled, i.e. can not be used outside India.
3. The card is prepaid in nature. Maximum Limit Rs.50000.

How to generate an SBI Virtual Card

To generate the State Bank of India Virtual Card or Prepaid card follow the under noted Steps

1. Login to your SBI Internet Banking Website. You can also go here. (Official Bank Website)

2.Go to e-Services>More>e-Cards>State Bank Virtual Card

3. Select State Bank Virtual Card, on the next page, you have to provide the Virtual card Limit and Click on Generate.

 

 

The maximum limit of an SBI virtual Credit card is Rs.50000.00 and it is not international transactions enabled. Only SBI Corporate Credit Card customers can create International transactions enabled Visa Virtual Credit Cards in India free of cost. For details visit here.

Conclusion

In this era of Digital Transformation and neobanking, the plastic card is also becoming an archaic concept. Now, you can create a virtual Savings Account sitting at home and generate your Virtual Debit card.

A virtual Credit Card can only be generated if you hold a credit card. The main purpose of the Virtual Credit Card is to minimize the chances of fraudulent transactions during online payment. Most of us do not have a Credit Card in India, Still, if you want to generate a VCC card for any online transaction, then the best option is to generate Virtual Debit Cards which are international transaction enabled. But a Virtual Debit Card is not a temporary randomly generated card number and it will not get destroyed automatically.

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