Capital One virtual credit card: How does it work?

When you use your credit card online, you’re potentially exposing your card information to fraudsters or hackers. To avoid such risk, card providers like Capital One offer virtual credit card numbers to replace your real details. This way, if your virtual card numbers are compromised, your real credit card remains safe.

Does Capital One have a virtual credit card?

Yes. Capital One is a rare card provider that offers this feature to personal cardholders. To take advantage of it, you must use Capital One’s virtual assistant, Eno.

How to use a Capital One virtual credit card

You need a Capital One online account to sign up for a virtual card. Then create a virtual credit card in five steps:

1. Add the Eno from Capital One extension to your Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Firefox browser.
2. Click the extension and sign in with your Capital One online account details. You may need to verify your identity and account.
3. Visit any shopping website, and add the items you wish to buy to your cart.
4. Eno automatically pops up at checkout to create a virtual credit card number for order.
5. Name your virtual card — such as “Amazon” or “Walmart” — for later use at the same retailer.

You can use the unique virtual card number that appears at checkout on future orders with the same online merchant.

Compare Capital One credit cards with a virtual credit card option

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Name	Product	Filter values	Rewards	Purchase APR	Annual fee
Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card			1.5% cash back on all purchases	0% intro for the first 15 months (then 15.49% to 25.49% variable)	$0	View details	This no-annual-fee 1.5% cashback card offers of intro APR on purchases. No foreign transaction fees set this card apart.	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card			5x miles on Uber Eats and 1.25x miles on all purchases	0% intro for the first 12 months (then 15.49%, 21.49% or 25.49% variable)	$0	View details	Earn 20,000 bonus miles once you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Capital One® Secured Mastercard®			N/A	26.99% variable	$0	View details	Get access to a higher credit line after making your first 5 monthly payments on time.	Compare	loading Fetching your data...

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Benefits of a Capital One virtual credit card

Shopping with a Capital One virtual credit card keeps your personal and financial details safe:

• Secure online shopping. If your card number is compromised, you can lock your virtual card with no effect on your physical credit card.
• Create one virtual card per retailer. When you create a virtual credit card number with Eno, you can use that number for future orders at that vendor only. If a hacker steals your credit card info, they can’t use it anywhere else.
• Lock your virtual cards. Capital One allows you to lock and unlock your virtual cards. If you don’t plan to use it soon, simply lock it for now and unlock it when you’re ready to shop.

What to watch out for

One drawback to consider when using a virtual credit card through your Capital One account is that getting money back on returned items might be more difficult.

Retailers typically reimburse money to the card number you originally used to make the purchase. If that card is no longer active, it may require a call or email to designate an alternate form of reimbursement.

Bottom line

Capital One is one of the rare card providers that offer virtual credit card numbers to keep your physical details secure while you shop online. You can create a virtual card for each online retailer you shop at through a browser extension.

If you aren’t a Capital One cardholder and aren’t interested in becoming one, compare other providers that offer virtual credit cards.

Frequently asked questions

• Is there an alternative to virtual credit cards?

  Yes. Digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay can serve as an alternative if you don’t want to use your card directly with merchants.

• What happens to my virtual Capital One credit card if I report my real card as lost or stolen?

  In most cases, you lose your virtual credit cards as well.