SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Virtual credit cards for consumers may finally see their day in the sun. Switch, Inc. a leading fintech company, announced today that their proprietary Cardsavr API, card-on-file technology can now be utilized to make virtual credit cards more accessible and easier to use for consumers. The convergence of Cardsavr and virtual cards allows cardholders to experience improved speed, convenience and security while shopping online. Financial institutions, issuers, and processors have a better means to monitor cardholder activity, increase usage revenue and generate happy and loyal customers.
According to Switch, Cardsavr conquers the elusive problem preventing virtual card adoption, and can be integrated within existing card issuers’ web and mobile applications, today.
“Until now, activating merchant-specific virtual cards required cardholders to laboriously create and update every merchant one-by-one. Our CardSavr API automates and simplifies the entire user process and secures the card on file at the merchant with one step,” said Chris Hopen, CEO of Switch, Inc. “We make it all invisible to cardholders. They can reap all of the benefits of virtual cards without being bothered with the set-up or updating details.”
The company’s entry into the virtual credit card market is expected to help propel virtual usage, which has stalled, despite the added benefits of convenience, fraud protection and revenue upside for merchants and financial institutions, over traditional credit cards. “Making it effortless and immediate for customers to tap into the advantages of virtual cards will also make it easier for issuers to manage and grow their businesses,” added Hopen. “It builds a healthy virtual payment ecosystem for everyone.”
Cardsavr’s potential impact on the banking industry’s use of virtual cards is garnering significant attention.
“Switch has brought a very innovative technology solution that uniquely allows financial institutions and issuers to capitalize on virtual cards, while increasing security and convenience for our customers,” said John Ainsworth, CEO of CULedger, a leading credit union initiative developing innovative applications of distributed ledger technology. “I am constantly reviewing emerging fintech platforms and applications. Switch continues to impress me with their disruptive and successful approach to vanquishing major foundational industry challenges that have never been solved.”
Switch said the core Cardsavr attributes can also be applied to reward, private label and person-to-person payment programs, who face similar challenges around re-issuing, tracking usage and loss of potential revenue.
Cardsavr is the first and only API to automatically update cards across thousands of merchant sites with a single click. The patent-pending technology gives credit card issuers and processors a seamless solution enabling their cardholders to update new or existing cards and assign their preferred payment method on-file, anywhere they pay online, and now including virtual cards.
A merchant-specific virtual credit card is a number and CVV which can only be used for transactions at a given, specified merchant and often includes spending limits. Virtual credit cards help prevent card breaches and fraud for both merchants and consumers, and are useless on the dark web. Virtual cards can also be replaced and reissued without the hassle of a physical card.
Switch uses machine learning technology to build a crowdsourced database of automated robotic processes that can be performed on existing merchant sites. Virtual browser technology performs the card updates on the user’s merchant site accounts and saves it on their behalf. The entire process of updating payment information online is carried out in seconds.
To learn more about Switch’s CardSavr API visit www.cardsavr.com.
About Switch, Inc.
Headquartered in Seattle, Switch creates one-of-a-kind cardholder experiences that inspire loyalty, leading to recaptured and increased card revenue. The company’s secure, proprietary and patent-pending automation technology gives cardholders the ability to manage and update all of their online accounts in one place. You can learn more about Switch at switchme.com or follow the company on Facebook and Twitter.
