An American Express Virtual Account is a payment method used exclusively through the Internet. It’s basically a card number and its related information, sent by your bank to the online shop you buy from as a security measure so that neither your identity nor any other data about you can be exposed.
American Express Virtual cards are mainly associated with web shops that have signed commercial agreements with American Express, so that they may use this payment method.
You can create your own virtual card using any of your existing American Express cards/accounts associated to an active internet banking portal . This way you will have all the advantages of the features and services given by any virtual card together with those given by your internet banking portal
Once the virtual card is created, you can use it to make purchases from web shops that have a commercial agreement with American Express without disclosing your personal data. This way these kinds of shops gain an increased transaction security level. Furthermore, this way you gain more safety while using your credit cards online or when making Internet payments via PayPal and other similar payment systems.
To protect your privacy, a virtual account number is not a valid instrument for purchases at shops that do not have commercial agreements with American Express. Therefore, if you try to make a purchase from such a shop using your virtual card the transaction will be declined. The same thing would happen if you tried to use it as a payment method on websites that do not have a contract with American Express.
Additionally, an electronic mail will be sent to your address as a notification whenever a purchase is made using your virtual account. This way you will always keep track of the activities carried out over it and if something happens to use it without your authorization you will immediately know it.
You can also block and unblock your virtual account through your American Express online banking portal, which will allow you to change the status of your card as an active or deactivated one. If the transaction is declined due to a blocked virtual account number, try to enter it once again as an active one.