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Virtual Debit Cards

These top accounts offer instant virtual debit cards.

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Bethany Hickey

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Holly Jennings

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Most banks and credit union debit cards are compatible with popular digital wallets for Apple Pay or Google Pay, allowing you to add your physical debit card’s details for contactless and online payments. However, some banks and fintechs also offer temporary virtual cards, virtual cards for employees or separate virtual cards for each subaccount.

9 top places to get instant virtual debit cards

For digital banking

SoFi Checking and Savings

9 Excellent

Get up to $300 cash bonus with qualifying direct deposit. Terms apply. This offer is available until January 31, 2026.
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While SoFi doesn't offer extra virtual cards like Revolut or Ivella, if you just need debit cards compatible with digital wallets, SoFi is worth checking out. It's hybrid checking and savings account has no monthly fees and high APYs. The checking account's debit cards are compatible with Apple and Google digital wallets, letting you add your SoFi debit card to your wallet for contactless payments. You can also add the SoFi credit card to your digital wallet instantly after approval. Both checking and savings earn APY, up to 3.80% APY on savings by setting up direct deposit to become a Plus member, or you can pay a $10 monthly subscription fee to enroll as a Plus member. SoFi accepts cash deposits at Green Dot retail locations, costing up to $4.95 fee per deposit, but as an online bank it doesn't have physical branches.
APYUp to 3.80%
Fee$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0

For families

Current

9.2 Excellent

Get a $50 referral bonus by inviting your friends to join Current. Once the person receives the invite link and makes qualifying deposits of at least $200 within 45 days of opening the account, you and the referred friend each earn $50
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Current is a fintech with a bank partner. It offers a Current Account and a teen account, both of which offer virtual debit cards that you can use immediately before the physical debit card arrives. Just like the physical debit cards, the virtual cards can be paused anytime, added to virtual wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay, and used for in-store or online purchases. Also, Current doesn't charge any monthly maintenance or overdraft fees on its main account or the teen account. With the regular Current Account, you can create savings pods and earn up to 4% savings bonus on up to $2,000 per pod, and the teen account has strong parental controls and allowance features. However, Current's virtual cards can't be used to withdraw cash from ATMs, and Current doesn't offer joint accounts.
APY4.00%
Fee$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0

For second-chance banking

Chime® Checking Account

9.6 Excellent

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Chime is a fintech company with bank partners. It doesn't review your ChexSystems report when you apply for an account, which is helpful if you have a less-than-ideal banking history. Chime's Checking Account offers a physical and virtual debit card. The virtual debit card is available for immediate use after account approval and you don't have to wait for your physical card to arrive before you can spend. The virtual card's details are also different from your physical debit card, but are still linked to your Chime account. On top of all that, Chime's checking account has no monthly or inactivity fees. Chime offers tons of other services, too, such as the overdraft service Chime SpotMe®, cash advances and a credit-building secured card. But like other fintechs with banking services, you'll have no access to physical branches, and Chime doesn't offer joint accounts.
Fee$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0

For business virtual cards

Grasshopper Innovator Business Checking

9 Excellent

Earn unlimited 1% cash back on online and signature-based purchases with your free physical Visa debit card or instant-issue virtual cards.
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Grasshopper is a digital bank offering high-yield business checking and savings accounts. It offers virtual and instant-issue debit cards with the Innovator Business Checking Account. You can issue unlimited virtual cards, and have up to five active at one time. The account also has no monthly fees, 1% unlimited cash back and up to 1.8% APY based on your balance. The virtual and physical cards both earn the cashback rate. On top of all that, the account is fully loaded with features like digital invoicing, automated bookkeeping, cash flow tools, software syncing and unlimited transactions. However, Grasshopper is an online bank and doesn’t accept cash deposits, and you’ll need a $100 opening deposit.
APYUp to 1.80%
Fee$0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$100

For high-security virtual debit cards

Privacy Cards

Privacy Cards are virtual cards with strong controls that mask your debit and credit card details. With the $0 Personal Privacy plan, you can create Single-Use cards and Merchant Cards, totaling up to 12 new cards each month. Each virtual card gets unique numbers, and you can set nicknames and logos for tracking. The Single-Use cards expire after one use and are designed for merchants you don't plan on shopping with again. Merchant Cards can only be used at the first merchant they're used with and are automatically declined anywhere else. With paid plans, you can create other cards, such as Category Cards and Shared Cards, and get the ability to create more virtual cards per month. With all the plans, you can set spending limits for each card, track spending in the app and cancel a virtual card if you no longer need it. There are no fees on domestic transactions, but you need to be a US citizen, have a US bank account and be at least 18 years of age.
FeeFrom $0 per month

For temporary virtual credit cards

Cred.ai

9 Excellent

While it's not a true virtual debit card, it kind of works like one. The Credi.ai Unicorn Card is a secured credit card backed and repaid with a linked bank account. It has no hard credit check, no annual fees and no opening deposit requirement, and there's no APR if you set up automatic payments. But the real draw of the Unicorn Card is its extra perks and security features, such as the virtual Stealth Cards. Stealth cards are temporary virtual cards that expire, which are useful for shopping at unfamiliar sites or signing up for free trials. On top of that, you can pair Stealth Cards and your physical Unicorn Card with High Security Mode, which lets you create self-expiring authorization windows that lock the card once time runs out. Just know that as a secured credit card backed by a bank account, it has a low credit limit of $500 and without autopay, interest charges can apply if you don't repay your balance by the end of the billing cycle.
Fee$0 per year
Minimum deposit to open$0

For global virtual cards

Revolut

9.6 Excellent

Get a $10 cash reward when you first use your card on a qualifying $1+ transaction. Terms & Conditions apply.
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The personal Revolut Account lets you create unlimited disposable virtual prepaid debit cards and multi-use virtual cards right in the Revolut app. The disposable virtual cards refresh their details every time you use them. The multi-use virtual cards keep the same details, so they're useful for paying recurring bills and adding to digital wallets. And since you can create unlimited virtual cards, you can make different ones for different expenses to track your spending and budget. On top of all that, Revolut is a borderless account, letting you exchange over 25 currencies in the app, spend in over 150 currencies and make overseas purchases with your cards. But, as an online banking option, Revolut doesn't accept cash or check deposits, and there are no physical branches.
APYUp to 3.50%
FeeFrom $0 per month
Minimum deposit to open$0

For virtual cards tied to savings

Ivella

9.2 Excellent

Designed for couples, Ivella offers joint checking and savings accounts with no monthly maintenance fees, overdraft fees and no balance requirements. Ivella features savings pods, which are subaccounts of your savings account. Each pod has its own account and routing number, each pod gets its own virtual card and you can set up automatic deposits and withdrawals for each pod. The free membership lets you have one savings pod, and the paid Pods+ membership for $5 per month allows you to have up to 500 savings pods. On top of all that, you can earn 5.15% APY if you have the free membership and set up direct deposit, or you'll get the 5.15% APY automatically if you have the paid membership. Without the paid subscription or direct deposit, the savings APY is 1%. But since Ivella is designed for couples, you'll need someone to open Ivella with you.
APYUp to 5.15%
FeeFrom $0

For instant virtual prepaid cards

Skrill

Skrill offers an instant prepaid virtual card, simply called the Skrill Visa Prepaid Card. There's no application fee for your first virtual card if you have a verified Skrill account, have used the Skrill app and have deposited at least once into your Skrill account. The prepaid cards also have no activation period, overdraft fees, inactivity fees, foreign exchange fees or cash reload fees. You can manage your Skrill card with the Skrill app to check balances, deposit money or view transactions. Plus, you can add the virtual and physical prepaid cards to mobile wallets for contactless purchases. If you want an additional virtual prepaid card, there is a $2.50 subsequent application fee. If you want a physical Skrill prepaid card or haven't met the requirements, there's a $10 application fee.
Fee$0. per month

What is a virtual debit card?

A debit card is connected to your checking account. A virtual debit card is simply the storage of your debit card’s 16-digit card number, the CVV number and your expiration date in a virtual wallet, such as an Apple or Google Wallet. With that information loaded on your phone or browser in the digital wallet, you can charge your debit card without swiping or inserting your physical card.

There are also randomly generated virtual debit cards that are still tied to your checking account, but they have different details, which can allow for more privacy if you don’t want to share your actual debit card’s details with unfamiliar merchants or new sites. Some fintechs and banks allow you to create disposable virtual cards that expire after one purchase.

How to get a virtual debit card

If you want to add your physical debit card to a digital wallet, learn more about digital wallets here. In most cases, you simply need to open your device’s digital wallet, take a picture of your card or manually enter the card’s details, and verify the card’s addition.

To get virtual cards that are separate from your physical debit card, follow these steps:

  1. Sign up for the account or service. Once you’ve chosen where you’ll get your virtual cards from, sign up for the service. In most cases, you’ll need a bank account to fund the virtual card.
  2. Activate the card. After signing up for the service, you can create a virtual card and activate it.
  3. Fund the card. If your virtual debit card will be funded by your linked checking account, this step is easy enough. If you’re using a prepaid virtual card, you’ll need to load the card, which may involve a cash reload fee, depending on the method.
  4. Add the card to your preferred digital wallet. Once the card is activated and funded, you can add it to your preferred digital wallet and it’s ready to use. There are multiple wallets available, such as Apple Wallet, Google Wallet or Paypal.

Pros of virtual debit cards

Using a virtual debit card has several advantages, including:

  • Security. Using a virtual debit card that generates a random card number will help keep your funds secure when shopping online. On top of that, most digital wallets are encrypted and assign your card with different details than your actual debit card.
  • Convenience. You won’t need to bring a physical debit card to complete transactions in-store because you can pay with your digital wallet on your phone.
  • Speed. You won’t need to wait for a card to be delivered when you sign up for a new account or if your card expires. With the new digital banks, you may be able to use your virtual card as soon as your account is active.
  • Card options. There are single- and multi-use virtual debit cards available to suit your online payment needs, and you can use a prepaid card or link it to your bank account or credit provider.
  • Currency options. Some providers also offer multi-currency prepaid debit cards, such as Revolut, allowing you to save on currency conversion fees when buying from overseas retailers.

Cons of virtual debit cards

Keep in mind virtual debit cards may not suit everyone.

  • May not work in person. Some physical stores don’t accept contactless payments yet, so there may be restrictions on where you can use a virtual debit card.
  • Prepaid card limits. Financial institutions commonly set limits for how much you can load onto a prepaid card, such as $500 per day.

Bottom line

One of the biggest draws of virtual debit cards is their potential security benefits — especially with randomly generated virtual cards. Using a virtual card that’s tied to your checking account or credit card but has entirely different details means you’re not sharing your card details with unfamiliar people or merchants, giving an extra layer of security.

But for most virtual debit cards, you’ll need a US bank account because they’ll need to be funded. If your checking account isn’t compatible with popular digital wallets, or you just want a better debit card, compare the best checking accounts.

Frequently asked questions

Are virtual debit cards free?

In many cases, virtual debit cards are free or low-cost. With Revolut and Privacy, there are no-fee account options available that allow you to create multiple virtual cards.

Are there any virtual prepaid debit cards?

Yes, Skrill is a popular prepaid card option that offers virtual options. It doesn’t have any cash reload, inactivity or monthly fees. But to waive the $10 application fee, you’ll need to download the Skrill app and deposit some money into the Skrill account.

Can I use a virtual debit card at an ATM?

Some ATMs allow for contactless ATM withdrawals, often just called cardless or contactless ATMs. Just like with contactless registers and POS systems, you’ll see the same contactless symbol on ATMs that allow for cardless transactions.

contactless wireless pay sign nfc

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To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Holly Jennings as part of our fact-checking process.
Bethany Hickey's headshot
Written by

Banking editor

Bethany Hickey is the banking editor and personal finance expert at Finder, specializing in banking, lending, insurance, and crypto. Bethany’s expertise in personal finance has garnered recognition from esteemed media outlets, such as Nasdaq, MSN, Yahoo Finance, GOBankingRates, SuperMoney, AOL and Newsweek. Her articles offer practical financial strategies to Americans, empowering them to make decisions that meet their financial goals. Her past work includes articles on generational spending and saving habits, lending, budgeting and managing debt. Before joining Finder, she was a content manager where she wrote hundreds of articles and news pieces on auto financing and credit repair for CarsDirect, Auto Credit Express and The Car Connection, among others. Bethany holds a BA in English from the University of Michigan-Flint, and was poetry editor for the university’s Qua Literary and Fine Arts Magazine. See full bio

Bethany's expertise
Bethany has written 441 Finder guides across topics including:
  • Personal finance
  • Banking
  • Auto loans
  • Insurance
  • Cryptocurrency and NFTs
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