Citibank's Virtual Account Numbers

I knew that Citibank credit cards provide the "Virtual Account Number" option (also called "Controlled Payment Number" or "One-Time-Use Credit Card"). But I never used this feature previously. I tried out this feature today and was pleasantly surprised.

Image Courtesy: Citibank

Virtual Account Numbers are credit card numbers which are generated on the fly and can be used for online transactions. This is very helpful if you do not want to reveal your actual credit card number for online transactions. I always assumed that these numbers are one-time use only. But with the Citibank Virtual Account Numbers, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that you can set up the numbers to be multiple use and also specify limits and expiration dates (up to 12 months in the future). Bank of America credit cards also have this feature but I have not used it.

The "Virtual Account Number" is a great feature for credit card companies who constantly aspire to be "first in wallet".

Update (7/2/2008): Bank of America's one-time-use credit card feature is called ShopSafe.

Related Links:
- Citibank Virtual Account Numbers FAQs
- Controlled Payment Number - Wikipedia
- Orbiscom - the company which developed the technology