What a virtual card is
A virtual card exists only as card details in your account: a card number, an expiry date and a security code. You use them to pay online, like any other card.
It is prepaid: you can spend only the money you top up. It is not a credit card and not a bank account, and there is no credit check or overdraft.
Choose a card
- Subscriptions (Mastercard) – streaming, software, app stores and games, paid online.
- Travel (Visa) – everything above, plus hotels, flights, car rental, marketplaces, PayPal, and Apple Pay or Google Pay.
- Premium (Visa) – everything above, plus AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Midjourney, and shop terminals and contactless payments.
You pay the issue price once, and there is no monthly fee. Compare prices and limits on the virtual cards page, or check a service in where cards work.
Do I need documents?
No. You sign up with your email and issue a card online. The card is ready within 10 minutes.
We may ask for an identity document and a selfie if the law requires it or a payment looks unusual. Our identity checks policy explains what we ask for and why.
Top up a card
Top up from €10, £10 or $10 with a bank card (Visa or Mastercard), Apple Pay or Google Pay. Virtual card top-ups can also be paid by bank transfer: SEPA Instant in euros or Faster Payments in pounds. The card is in US dollars, and the top-up fee includes the conversion: you see the fee and the dollars that land on the card before you confirm. See card fees and limits.
Pay online or with your phone
Enter the card details at checkout. When a shop asks for 3-D Secure, the confirmation code appears in your Niceway account. Travel and Premium cards also work in Apple Pay and Google Pay, and the Premium card works in shop terminals and for contactless payments.
Freeze or close a card
- Freezing declines every payment until you unfreeze the card. Use it if you are not sure where the card details have been used.
- Closing a card is free and permanent. Any balance left on it moves to your Niceway account balance, where it can pay for another card or a top-up. It cannot be paid out to a bank account, so top up only what you plan to spend.
If a payment is declined
These are the usual reasons a prepaid card payment fails:
- The balance is lower than the payment.
- The payment is above the card’s limit for one payment: $1,000 on Subscriptions, $5,000 on Travel, $10,000 on Premium.
- The card is frozen.
- The 3-D Secure confirmation was not completed in time.
- The service does not accept this card. Some services, such as ChatGPT and Claude, accept only the Premium card; bookings, marketplaces and PayPal need Travel or Premium. Check where cards work.
A declined payment costs $0.50 on Subscriptions, $0 on Travel, $0 on Premium. If you are not sure why a payment failed, contact us with the shop name and the time.