alt Hacker NewsVirtual credit cards have been a thing for years. I remember bank of america or Citi providing them to me 15+ years ago. If I recall it was a java app or maybe even a standalone exe. Shocked they never took off more broadly.
Robinhood absolutely nails this. Best virtual credit card system I have ever used. So seamless. Can auth a card for one time use, 24 hours, or indefinite until you cancel. Such a great UI / UX
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MBNA (which got bought out by Chase) had a Flash-based virtual card app back in the early 2000's. I really enjoyed using it. I also can't understand why they haven't taken off, especially in the world of Everything Is A Subscription we're living in now. I adored being able to set expiration dates and spend limits to save ugly negotiations about ending subscriptions.
It didn’t take off because it was easier to eat the costs of fraud than to maintain the system. It didn’t catch on simply because it’s pro-consumer.