There are three main differences between single-use virtual cards and other delivery methods:
1. Faster
Single-use virtual cards can be processed immediately, 24/7, as long as the vendor has a point of sale terminal*. (Exact timing depends on the payment method. Learn more about payment delivery timelines).
IMPORTANT:
*Must have a point of sale to process payment.
2. Easier to reconcile
Single-use cards are sent with full remittance data - amount, payor and invoice details. All the information appears in the same email as the payment. This makes reconciliation faster and easier for you. You can automate reconciliation, for greater efficiency.
3. More secure
Single-use cards are more secure than other payment methods, because:
- You don’t need to share any banking information with your customers. You only fill out your details once when you sign up.
- Each single-use card is for a specific amount, with a 30-day expiration date and processed only for that amount. Single-use cards are MasterCards issued by JPMorgan Chase and adhere to strict security regulations and measures.
Here are more differences to consider:
|
|
Single-use virtual card |
Check |
ACH bank transfer |
Instant payment via debit card |
|
Speed |
Immediately available* immediately available 24/7. |
5-7 business days + time spent reconciling. |
Up to 3 business days depending on the funding source. |
Up to 30 minutes* depending on the enabled issuers. |
|
Control |
Full remittance data & single-use virtual card payments can be tracked at every step of the payment process.
|
Only sees customer name & amount & cannot track payment during delivery. |
Only sees customer name & amount & cannot track payment during delivery. |
Limited remittance data settled in a one off transaction with sender name, address DOB and primary account number or reference number. |
|
Convenience |
No change to existing process vendor receives the money through its existing merchant acquirer which offers extra service (reconciliation, sync with accounting platform, customer support, etc). |
Manual processing & reconciliation needed |
Manual processing & reconciliation needed |
Limit of $10,000 per transaction |
|
Security |
Highly secure for vendor: no need to expose bank account details; and for payor: one time usage card containing the exact invoice amount. PCI compliant. |
Lost checks & check fraud |
Vendor bank details exposed vendor’s bank details are exposed to the payor. |
Card details or bank details exposed vendor’s card or bank details are exposed. |
|
Cost |
No additional cost vendor pays card processing fees (depending on the vendor’s agreement with the card processor). |
$1.50 $1.50 fee per check, the first 2 every month are free.
|
Free but... reconciliation costs. |
1% per debit transaction. |
*Delivery time is a result of the type of payment method used to send transfers. This means that you should consider the processing time of the payment method and the processing time of the delivery method.
For example: Let's say the customer pays a bill from their bank account and the vendor signs up for a single-use virtual card. The payment will take 3 full days to process the ACH bank transfer and then will be delivered to the vendor as a single-use card.