One of the many questions we get asked here at US Unlocked are questions regarding our two different types of virtual payment cards, Merchant Specific and Single-Use, and what purchases to use the cards on. Because of this, we decided to go a little more in-depth on explanations of each.
Merchant Specific Card
The Merchant Specific card was designed to be easy-to-use, as well as designed to be tied to one specific merchant or seller. We like to encourage this card to be used for subscriptions and to places that users will likely be purchasing products from numerous times.
Key Things to Know for Merchant Specific Cards
- This card can be used as many times as you’d like with one merchant.
- You are able to establish a spending limit on the card. This makes it easier to track purchases in the way of per charge, month, or year.
- The card will be locked to the first merchant the card was authorized with, but cannot be used with any other merchant. This ensures that a breach at one merchant doesn’t put you at risk across the internet. Providing you with the utmost security.
- Once the Merchant Specific card is locked to a merchant this card number stays the same.
Best Uses for Merchant Specific Card
- Monthly Subscriptions – members are able to set a monthly limit and if they try to charge you for more than the limit is, it will decline and notify you.
- Digital Goods – buying digital goods from the same merchant.
- Physical Goods – buying physical goods from the same merchant.
- Facebook Purchases – many times facebook ad purchases require a preauthorization charge before the purchase of an item. The Merchant Specific card allows the preauthorization to happen as well as the next transaction that follows instead of declining.
Check out our article on Merchant Specific cards for an instruction guide on how to set the card up.
One-time Use Cards
The One-Time Use virtual payment card we offer is just that, a one-time use. It allows for a sense of security as you know the card number can not be charged numerous times, so we always advise using this card at merchants you do not frequent often and do not wish to keep a certain card on file at.
Best 3 Things to Know with the One-Time Use Card
- This card should be only used when you wish to make a quick purchase at a unique merchant you do not plan on purchasing from regularly.
- Automatically closes 2 minutes after your first charge completes.
- After this card closes you can click on the One-Time Use Card again and it will generate a new card for you to use and the numbers will be generated over again.
For more information on how to set up a One-Time Use Card check out our article on One-Time Use Cards.
Questions to Ask Yourself Before Choosing your Card
- Will I be frequenting this merchant often?
- Do I wish to maintain a subscription with this merchant?
- Am I looking for secure shopping experience for a single use?
- Will I be charged more than once from this merchant?
And as always Ruby is always here to answer any questions you may regarding the virtual payment cards! Happy Shopping!
