AdminA Complete List of Virtual Dollar Cards for Nigerians
Following the $20 monthly limit placed on naira payment cards by commercial and microfinance banks across the country due to the Central Bank’s regulations in march 2022, Nigerians have not only expressed their grievances but have also looked out for alternatives to pay for their Netflix, Amazon, Google Play, and GoDaddy subscriptions. While some commercial banks offer some dollar card options such as Domiciliary Debit Cards and Prepaid Dollar Cards, most Nigerians find it hard to gather credentials such as utility bills, reference letters, and the minimum opening USD amount required to open the corresponding accounts.
This is why most Nigerians are in search of an affordable option. In this article, we will inform you of the best option available in the market. We will also give you a detailed review of each card including fees and charges per card. Before we begin exploring the available virtual card options, let’s have a chat on virtual dollar cards.
What a Virtual Dollar Card Is & What It Is Not
A virtual card is a transactional card that can be used to make online payments that require bank card processing. However, a virtual dollar card does not allow you to receive, deposit, and send money to anyone anywhere in the world as you might have misconceived. With a virtual dollar card, you might be eligible to claim some rewards. For instance, Visa is offering to randomly select some users of its card and reward them with an all-expense paid trip to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Benefits of Using a Virtual Dollar Card
A number of advantages are attached to the usage of virtual dollar cards which are already obvious. While naira bank cards may be used for local or cumulative international transactions of $20 monthly, these virtual dollar cards go far as being used for up to $10,000 in international payments every month. Some benefits of using virtual dollar cards include:
1. Optimal Security
Your virtual dollar card is extremely safe compared to physical cards that can be easily compromised by fraudsters. The fact that it is used digitally makes it unreachable to just anyone except yourself. In this world and time, it is expected that everyone should be wary of their transactional activities which can either jeopardize their finances or keep them safe from unsafe transactions. With the use of virtual cards, optimal security is assured. You are allowed to freeze your card when not in use to avoid unauthorized transactions.
2. Easy Transaction
No stress about carrying your cards everywhere you go. Once you have your smartphone with you, all transactions can be done without setbacks. This tends to make the payments of bills and other transactions safe and faster than when using physical cards. Additionally, this can be a great option for large business owners who make countless transactions daily. You do not want to get caught up in transfer errors or ATMs swallowing up your physical card which makes virtual cards better.
3. Minimized Cost
While physical bank cards may deduct your money in an attempt to help you manage it, virtual dollar cards offer rewards when the cards are used often. The virtual dollar card typically does not have hidden charges and does not cause automatic deductions in any form. This means your money will be intact and remain untouched no matter how many transactions you do.
4. Prepaid
You have a choice to fund your virtual dollar card before using it or leave it empty. It offers you a pay-as-you-go option which makes the system smart and affordable.
Top 10 Virtual Prepaid Dollar Card for Nigerians
There’s no need to worry about the suspension of the Barter Card by Flutterwave. There are a handful of alternatives that Nigerians can count on to ensure they continue to make transactions in dollar currency without any setbacks. We hereby provide you with the top ten virtual dollar cards available for Nigerians and they are:
1. Chipper Cash Virtual Dollar Card
Chipper Cash was originally launched as a fintech product designed to make intra-African money transfers possible, speedy and affordable. While it has winded down on some of its features and restricted access to some countries, the app is becoming rapidly popular because of its virtual dollar card service which stands unmatchable in terms of reliability and qualitativeness to users.
At the moment, Chipper Cash does not have a WebApp or Website that supports Virtual Card Services. Hence to use the service, you’d be required to download the Chipper Cash App from Playstore if you use an Android Device or from the App Store if you use an iOS device.
The good thing about the Chipper Cash Virtual Dollar Card is that there are no hidden fees. In fact, the creation of the Chipper Cash Virtual Dollar Card is free. You are only required to claim your card and fund it. If there is a bad side to the Chipper Cash Virtual Dollar Card, then that would be the expensive exchange rate. As of the time of writing this article, the exchange rate to fund your Chipper Virtual Dollar Card is over N760 per Dollar rate.
| SERVICES | FEES |
| CARD CREATION FEES | FREE |
| TRANSACTION FEES | FREE |
| CARD FUNDING FEES | FREE |
| MAINTENANCE FEES | FREE |
2. CashBuddy Virtual Dollar Card
CashBuddy, a new fintech web app in Nigeria, offers virtual dollar card creation services to Nigerians looking to expand their business horizons. The mode of operation by CashBuddy is quite similar to other online dollar accounts. To start with, the CashBuddy virtual card works perfectly in Nigeria and can be used for payments on global platforms like Instagram, Facebook, PayPal, Binance, Amazon, Apple Music, and GoDaddy. CashBuddy equally allows you receive US Dollar payments from any part of the world into your CashBuddy account.
Apart from a $3 creation fee, CashBuddy deducts no funding or transaction fees from your card. We tried exploring the account interface on CashBuddy so we could give you more details regarding the platform, but for reasons beyond our scope of operations, we could not receive the one-time password required to explore the user interface.
| SERVICES | FEES |
| CARD CREATION FEES | $3 |
| TRANSACTION FEES | FREE |
| CARD FUNDING FEES | FREE |
| MAINTENANCE FEES | FREE |
3. Astropay Virtual Dollar Card
The AstroPay platform is a global digital transaction platform that also issues virtual dollar cards to its customers. With this platform, there is no need to worry about payments that need to be made in dollar currency. Although verification is required before using this account, the virtual cards on this platform are usually issued for free and allow a $5 minimum deposit. The best thing about the Astropay virtual dollar card is that it can be accessed through the AstroPay mobile application and the web application.
We are yet to arrive at the accurate fees for the AstroPay virtual dollar card. We already mailed the AstroPay support and will update the list in time.
| SERVICES | FEES |
| CARD CREATION FEES | |
| TRANSACTION FEES | |
| CARD FUNDING FEES | |
| MAINTENANCE FEES |
4. Raven Virtual Dollar Card
The Raven Virtual Dollar Card is a product of Raven Bank, a digital bank powered by Beststar Microfinance Bank. Apart from helping users make fast and reliable transactions, Raven Bank allows customers to create virtual dollar cards for the sake of online international transactions. The only bad side is that you need to download the Raven Bank mobile application before you can sign up for an account, as Raven Bank does not support a web app for transactions. The Raven Virtual Dollar Card is active and available to prospective and existing account holders of Raven Bank. Personally, the verification process is another time-consuming process as you are required to link your Bank Verification Number and Identity card for KYC purposes before creating a virtual dollar card.
| SERVICES | FEES |
| CARD CREATION FEES | |
| TRANSACTION FEES | |
| CARD FUNDING FEES | |
| MAINTENANCE FEES |
5. Wallets.Africa Virtual Dollar Card
Wallets.africa is another virtual dollar card-issuing platform. The San Francisco-based fintech company used to be a competitor to FlutterWave’s Barter before the latter suspended its virtual card services. The good news about Wallets.africa dollar cards is that users can request both physical and virtual cards based on their interests.
While moving around with the physical dollar card may be risky, it is advisable for Nigerians to opt for the virtual dollar card which would usually be locked from unauthorized access through account password and two-factor authentications.
| SERVICES | FEES |
| CARD CREATION FEES | #3000 |
| TRANSACTION FEES | Up to $1 per successful transaction |
| CARD FUNDING FEES | Up to 2% |
| MAINTENANCE FEES | $1 per month |
6. Changera Virtual Dollar Card
Changera Virtual Dollar Card is a product of Changera Mobile App which is powered by Bitmama. The awesome thing about this card is how it integrates cryptocurrency into fiat transactions. It allows users fund their virtual dollar cards from their fiat and crypto wallets. Having an account with Changera also gives you access to a domiciliary account in US Dollar, Euro and GB Pounds.
You’re also allowed to create several virtual cards within the Changera virtual dollar card service in order to use them for various transactions, and it also offers about $10,000 monthly limits on each card. You have to download the Changera mobile app to access the virtual card services offered by Bitmama.
| SERVICES | FEES |
| CARD CREATION FEES | $1 |
| TRANSACTION FEES | |
| CARD FUNDING FEES | |
| MAINTENANCE FEES |
7. Roqqu Virtual Dollar Card
Roqqu is another awesome platform that provides Nigerians with a virtual Dollar Card service once they open and verify an account with them. This virtual dollar card can be used as a medium of purchase via online platforms some of which have been mentioned repeatedly in this article. Roqqu also ensures security of transactions made on their platforms are kept in check with the latest technologies, which includes an end-to-end encryption of data.
Although Roqqu is more recognized for selling and buying cryptocurrencies, it also allows users transact on a borderless scope through its virtual dollar card service. The virtual dollar card on Roqqu gets funded from your fiat balance usually. Roqqu is available on the web and on mobile but the virtual card services are only available on the Roqqu mobile app at the moment.
| SERVICES | FEES |
| CARD CREATION FEES | $2 |
| TRANSACTION FEES | $1 – $5 |
| CARD FUNDING FEES | |
| MAINTENANCE FEES |
8. Vella Finance Dollar Card
Asides offering a virtual wallet, Vella finance just like the already mentioned platforms also issues a virtual dollar card to customers who are willing to make payments for product or services outside Nigeria. It requires a BVN and Identity verification before you can use its virtual dollar card services. Additionally, you can fund your Vella dollar card with a minimum of $5 and a maximum of $25,000. Just like the Changera Dollar card, you can also create different card labels and use them for diverse transactions.
| SERVICES | FEES |
| CARD CREATION FEES | $2 |
| TRANSACTION FEES | $1 |
| CARD FUNDING FEES | |
| MAINTENANCE FEES |
9. GoMoney
GoMoney is one of the revolutionary virtual dollar card service providers we have at the moment. Personally, I am surprised at how the company has been able to keep the exchange rates close to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s rate instead of the prevailing black market rate for over three months. The discouraging aspect of the GoMoney is that the verification process might take about two weeks before you can finally create your virtual card.
GoMoney also makes it possible for users to chat with its support crew for issues and transactions resolution. Users are also able to transfer money, split bills and schedule payments. On GoMoney, your first virtual card is free and there are no extra cots associated with transacting or maintaining your card. Asides from a possible verification delay you may experience, GoMoney allows a monthly transaction limit of $100 on each card. To bypass that, you may want to create additional virtual dollar cards which cost N1,000 each.
At the moment, GoMoney offers no support for web applications but all its services are available on its mobile application.
| SERVICES | FEES |
| CARD CREATION FEES | FREE/ N1,000 |
| TRANSACTION FEES | |
| CARD FUNDING FEES | |
| MAINTENANCE FEES |
10. Castro
Castro is a new player in the Fintech Space. What I personally dislike about Castro is the fees involved from funding your Castro Wallet to transacting with it. Castro charges about 2% on deposits into your wallet, $2.5 card creation fee, $1 funding fees and a whole lot of other fees. It is horrible to be told you have to pay on each activity you carry out on Castro, and that is to me, very mean. It is just like paying to breathe and other unneccesities. If you would not mind the fees, you can proceed to carry out your transactions with Castro Virtual Dollar Cards.
Castro is only available as a web app and might come up with a mobile app in the nearest future. You are only allowed to fund a minimum of $10 at on your Castro Virtual Dollar Card.
| SERVICES | FEES |
| CARD CREATION FEES | $2.5 |
| TRANSACTION FEES | $1 – $5 |
| CARD FUNDING FEES | 1 |
| MAINTENANCE FEES | $1 monthly |
Conclusion
At this point, you must have concluded on a virtual dollar service of your choosing. We will keep this list up to date with new and active virtual dollar card services providers that serves the Nigerian populace. Thank you for reading!
Admin
