NEW DELHI: While the Reserve Bank of India has brought out a new set of guidelines to enhance the security provided to debit and credit card customers, banks like the State Bank of India (SBI) have introduced new products and solutions that offer a more secure transacting experience for their customers.
For instance, the SBI has recently rolled out a one-use ‘Virtual Card’ for its net banking users, which allows them to make online payments without exposing their real debit and credit card details to the merchant.
According to the bank, the virtual card works as a limit debit card and can be created on the bank’s internet banking platform.
The card, once generated, is valid for only 48 hours or once the transaction has been completed, and can be used on any e-commerce payment platform that accepts Visa cards.
“Such a system is more secure than using the original debit or credit cards provided to customers because it does not expose these details to the merchant. Secondly, since the card can only access a limited corpus of funds previously decided by the customer, it reduces the risk of someone gaining access to their whole account,” noted S Krishnakumar, a Chennai-based finance planner.
To generate the card, an SBI customer has to log into their internet banking platform, select the ‘e-card’ tab and opt to ‘generate virtual card’.
The user can then select which account to transfer money from and how much.
Once selected, the user will have to verify their details and enter the OTP sent to their registered mobile.
“After successful validation, card image with card number, expiry date, etc, will be displayed on the screen,” the bank said.
According to the details provided by the bank, the minimum transaction amount to create an SBI virtual card is Rs 100 and the maximum is Rs 50,000.
“SBI vitual card is a single usage card, i.e., once used successfully, it cannot be reused. The amount is debited only when actual purchase using the virtual card is completed successfully,” the bank said.
How to generate the SBI Virtual Card
Log in to internet banking, select the ‘e-card’ tab and opt to ‘generate virtual card’.
Select the account to transfer money from and how much.
When asked, verify your details and enter the OTP sent to the registered mobile number.