News and guides on credit, leasing, savings and banking services in Switzerland

A virtual credit card for online shopping fans

Lockdown has certainly changed our consumer habits. One of the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic is the increase in online shopping. We have to admit that shopping on the internet has many advantages: no queues, an enormous choice of products and the possibility of having them delivered directly to your home.

Faced with this growing phenomenon, UBS has decided to expand its digital offer by introducing UBS Virtual Cards, fully virtual credit cards. This is also the first time such a product has been introduced in Switzerland. But what is a virtual credit card?

Contrary to their plastic-coated cousins, UBS Virtual Cards come in a fully digital form. This means that these credit cards can be obtained instantly, without having to wait several days for the postman to deliver them to your home. UBS explains that these digital means of payment can be registered in the mobile applications TWINT, Mobile Pay, Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or Google Pay. And of course, it is also possible to shop directly in online shops!

However, we will have to wait until the beginning of 2021 to get our hands on these virtual credit cards. Will we see a new alternative to the services offered by online banks? Although it is still too early to tell, it is clear that the Swiss banking sector is starting to become more and more digital. In September 2020, for example, it was reported that the Maestro debit card could soon be discontinued by several big names, including Credit Suisse, Valiant and UBS.

Based on: ubs.com