Every day, people make cross-border payments. They could be for subscriptions to YouTube Music, Netflix, and Amazon, to pay for courses on Coursera, Udemy, or Udacity, or to make Visa and other educational payments and other types of transactions.
Whatever the reason, this requires a virtual dollar card. It is not easy to get a physical dollar card from banks. In places like Nigeria, your local bank cards can not be used to make international payments due to restrictions from the Central Bank of Nigeria. These and other reasons explain the high demand for virtual dollar cards.
In today’s article, we will look at how you can create a virtual dollar card for international transactions. We will also see the best platforms to get one, its benefits, and things to look out for.
Before that, let us have a better understanding of what virtual dollar cards are.
What Are Virtual Dollar Cards?
If you already know the physical dollar card, you will better understand virtual dollar cards. They are similar, but a major difference is that virtual dollar cards are not tangible.
Aside from this major difference, their features are the same. Like the physical card, the virtual one has a unique card number, expiration date, and CVV code. To get this card, you must go through an app or website that provides virtual dollar cards for its users.
You can fund it through a bank transfer or other methods in your local currency, and your balance will reflect the dollar equivalent. The most popular and accepted dollar card networks are Visa and Mastercard.
Best Platforms to Get a Virtual Dollar Card in Nigeria
If you need a virtual dollar card as a Nigerian, these are some of the best platforms that you can get one from:
- Pay4Me
Pay4Me launched a USD virtual card feature in October 2024 for online purchasing that provides secure transactions, widespread acceptance across popular online businesses, simple management, and instant processing with low processing fees. You can create a card, fund it with your wallet or payment provider, and use it to pay for study abroad and travel expenses. Nigerians who already use the Pay4Me app can generate a virtual card.
- Chipper Cash
Chipper Cash provides the Chipper USD Card, a prepaid, reloadable virtual card for international internet transactions. With over 5 million users, the platform processes over USD 1.5 billion each quarter. The card is available to 21% of customers and allows for purchases on worldwide platforms, including Netflix, Apple, Spotify, Google, AliExpress, and Amazon. You will be charged $3 to create the card, a $1 monthly maintenance fee, and a 1% transaction fee for money deposited into your card balance.
- ALAT by Wema
Wema Bank’s digital version, ALAT, provides various banking services, including virtual dollar cards for overseas transactions. It has over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store. You can make online purchases and payments for subscription services such as Netflix, iTunes, and Spotify without needing a physical card. The ALAT app allows you to create, manage, liquidate, and block virtual cards.
- Cardify
Cardify Africa is a fintech company that reduces spending across digital and physical wallets. It offers two types of dollar virtual cards: Visa/standard and Mastercard/basic. To get the card, you pay an issuance fee of $2. Then, you fund it with as little as $5 from Naira, USDT, BinancePay, or Paxful wallets. Cardify’s virtual cards include competitive rates, no maintenance fees, and a simple interface for creating, funding, and maintaining them.
- Bitnob
Bitnob is an app that accepts payments from over seven African nations, including Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana, via the Universal Money Address (UMA) standard and the Lightning Network. You can use it to pay for your Netflix, Spotify, Udemy, Google Play, and Amazon subscriptions. You fund your virtual dollar card up to $10,000, with $1,000 for each top-up. You can personalize your card to suit your personality. You create it with $1. Every funding below $100 will cost you $1, while deposits above $100 will cost 1% of the deposit. Bitnob is available on the Google Play and App Store.
- Payday
Payday is a Nigerian fintech company that has made international payments simple for people by creating virtual dollar cards that make cross-border transactions safe and easy. Your Visa, MasterCard, or Verve dollar cards with Payday have spending limits of $3,000 (Visa) and $10,000 (MasterCard) per month. You can get as many dollar cards as you want with Payday, each costing $5. Pay for your Amazon, Netflix, and Spotify subscriptions and easy money transfers and receipts at low rates.
How Can I Create a Virtual Dollar Card for Transaction
The steps to create a virtual dollar card depend on the platform you use. However, the steps listed here will be a guide on whatever platform you choose.
- Download the App – Get the app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
- Create an Account – Sign up using your email, phone number, and personal details.
- Verify Identity – Complete KYC (Know Your Customer) by submitting a valid ID (NIN, passport, BVN, or driver’s license).
- Deposit Funds – Transfer money to your app wallet via bank transfer, debit card, or mobile money.
- Confirm Payment – Check your balance to ensure the funds reflect.
- Navigate to Card Section – Look for options like “Virtual Card” or “Dollar Card” within the app to create the card.
- Choose Card Type – Select Visa or Mastercard (depending on availability).
- Input Card Amount – Specify the amount to load onto the card. Ensure to meet minimum requirements.
- Pay for Card Creation—A fee (typically $3-$5) may apply to create the virtual card.
- Receive Card Details – The virtual card (with card number, CVV, and expiration date) will be generated.
- Activate Card – Some platforms need you to activate your card.
- Start Transactions – Use the card to make online purchases on international platforms like Netflix, Amazon, etc.
Benefits of a Virtual Dollar Card
These are the benefits of having a virtual card:
- Unlike a physical card, you do not need to carry a virtual card around, which makes it convenient.
- You do not need to worry about it getting stolen or lost.
- You can use it for multiple types of global transactions.
- You can control the amount of money you spend on it by setting spending limits.
- This card is available to anyone who needs it.
Tips for Getting a Virtual Dollar Card
Have these at the back of your mind when getting a virtual card:
- Use a reputable platform like Payday, Chipper Cash, Alat, or Pay4Me.
- Present a valid ID and proof of address to verify your identification.
- Add funds to your wallet to cover card creation and the initial balance.
- Check the costs of card creation, deposits, and spending limits.
- Check exchange rates on platforms that provide favorable dollar rates.
- Select between Visa and Mastercard as they are widely accepted.
- Your platform should have security measures like card freezes, OTPs, and fraud protection.
Conclusion
Making cross-border payments in Nigeria was a nightmare before, but not anymore. As you know the possibilities of limitless transactions, you now see why a virtual dollar card is a must-have. To get one, know which one suits your needs, and then choose a reliable platform to use for it.
It should be easy from here, as this article has given you everything you need about virtual dollar cards.
