Virtual Card: CSI Presenting globalVCard for Businesses
- Announced in the beginning of September 2011, CSI’s mobile app designed to manage virtual cards globalVCard has been presented during the Consumer Electronic Show, this January.
- The user authenticates to access an online management portal. Visually, the interface appears as a legitimate MasterCard card. Among the configuration options: cardholder and card-related information (name, expiration date), predefined expenses limits, maximum number of transactions, authorised kinds of purchases, OTP or for recurring use according to the customer’s choice, etc.
- For now, CSI is mainly targeting companies and also makes it possible to link billing items to the virtual card to make employers’ management easier. Finally, once the card generated, it can be transmitted to its holder through the app, via e-mail or by SMS.
- In order for this business-oriented offer (generally to be used online)to be accepted in convenience stores, the cashier will have to manually enter all the information into the POS terminal; a new version would currently be designed to take advantage of contactless technologies and optimise its use in points of sales.
- According to CSI, this mobile app (available in Android, iOS and BlackBerry) may concern about 92% of Smartphones users. Given all the features displayed by this product, globalVCard might someday include a mobile wallet as well.
- This solution reminds us of other, more traditional, OTP generators but distinguishes itself through its ergonomics and ease of use.
- Last August in the US, Citizens Bank launched accessCARD Command for companies (also available for small businesses): an online professional finance management service enabling employers to design several virtual cards for their employees (according to their specific needs, with dedicated limits, etc.).
- Also, relatively similar devices are also available in France: the “e-Carte Bleue”, for instance, (launched in 2002) is now proposed by six banks to their individual customers (Banque Populaire, Banque BCP, Caisse d’Epargne, La Banque Postale, LCL and Société Générale).
- In Spain, La Caixa was the first bank to propose a product of this kind. CaixaWallet, launched in December 2011, addresses over three million online buyers La Caixa customers (2011 figures) and fits in the upcoming developments regarding mobile wallets and contactless services (see recent initiatives by La Caixa –"Spanish Banks Speeding Up Mobile Contactless Solutions Adoption").