Virtual Credit Cards are basically just credit, debit, or prepaid cards with no plastic created. They are primarily used in B2B payment scenarios where a specific supplier needs to be paid with precision. Controls are often built so that the cards can only be transacted by a specific merchant or merchant type. The credit line is often set at the exact amount due to avoid overcharging. Meta-data can be appended to the payment to aid in reconciliation. Virtual cards are most often delivered via API calls into existing systems.

Virtual cards have been around for a long time—at least since the 1990’s when my former employer, WEX, created them so that Priceline could pay hotels on a per reservation basis.

Examples of ideal use cases for virtual card include:

- Online travel agencies paying hotels or airlines

- Insurance Companies paying auto repair facilities for a claim

- AAA paying tow truck companies on a per tow basis

- Keeping a card on file to pay for online advertising spend

- eCommerce retailers paying their suppliers (inventory, shipping, advertising, etc.)

We have a lot of experience launching virtual credit card programs across a number of unique verticals. If you’re looking to build out a new virtual card program we can help manage that project from vendor assessment to implementation.

One thing to remember is that AP Automation, which is the process of sending your AP file to us for processing of payments is different than a traditional virtual card. That process utilizes virtual cards for some of the vendor disbursements but also covers traditional payments like ACH and check. If you want to learn more about AP Automation at b7 please click here.