Google said today that its Chrome browser would now let users to use a fake credit card number in online payment forms. Since they may be quickly cancelled if a merchant’s systems are compromised, these virtual card numbers enable you to keep your “actual” credit card number secure when making online purchases. These virtual credit card numbers are already provided by a number of credit card issuers, although they are probably far less popular than they ought to be. Later this summer, according to Google, these virtual cards will be made available in the US.
The main networks including Visa, Mastercard, and American Express will be supported at launch as a result of Google’s collaboration with both card issuers like Capital One, which is the launch partner for this functionality. Being supported by the networks is obviously important in this situation since it would be challenging to get all card issuers on board individually. In an update, Google clarified that Mastercard support will arrive “later this year.” Mastercard has officially confirmed that it will debut this summer along with the other networks.
The new function will launch on Chrome desktop and Android first, followed by iOS support. According to Arnold Goldberg, vice president and general manager of Google Payments, “this is a milestone step in making the security of virtual cards available to as many people as possible.” “Online shoppers using Chrome on desktop and Android may take advantage of a quick checkout process while feeling secure in the knowledge that their payment information is safeguarded.”
From the user’s point of view, this new autofill feature will only input the virtual card’s data for you, including the CVV that you can never remember for your real cards, and you can then manage the virtual cards and view your transactions at pay.google.com. You may use these virtual cards for subscriptions even though they are normally only used for one-time transactions. Given that this is Google, some users may understandably be concerned about how the business would utilize this additional information about your purchasing habits, but Google assures customers that it will not use any of this data for ad targeting.
