Virtual credit card in India: which cards work online and abroad in 2026
Short answer
Most Indian banks don't sell a standalone virtual credit card. ICICI shows a virtual copy of your credit card in iMobile Pay, and Scapia Federal's card works in the app before the plastic arrives, with no forex mark-up. SBI, Kotak 811 and Axis offer virtual debit cards. Switch on international use in your bank's app first.
On this page
Most Indian banks don’t sell a virtual credit card on its own. What you can get is one of three things: the virtual copy of a credit card you already hold (ICICI shows one in iMobile Pay), a new credit card that works in the app before the plastic arrives (Scapia Federal), or a virtual debit card on your savings account (SBI, Kotak 811, Axis). For paying foreign websites, look at Scapia Federal first. It charges no joining fee, no annual fee and no forex mark-up, where most bank cards add 3.5% to every foreign payment. Whichever card you pick, online and international use start switched off, so turn them on in your bank’s app before you pay.
How we put this together: on 24 October 2026 we read each bank’s and card company’s own product page, fee table and help article, plus the RBI rules that decide when an Indian card works abroad. All of them are listed under Sources. We didn’t apply for any card, so nothing here comes from an approval or a rejection, and we quote a fee only where the issuer publishes it.
What is a virtual credit card?
A virtual credit card is a card number, expiry date and CVV that live in your banking app, with no plastic card behind them. You use it anywhere a website asks for card details.
Indian banks offer two kinds. The first is a digital copy of a credit card you already have, sharing its credit limit. ICICI’s works this way: once your credit card is approved, its details show up in iMobile Pay, and you can set your own spending limit on the virtual version. The second kind is a throwaway number. HDFC Bank’s NetSafe made these: you set the amount, and the number worked for one payment within 48 hours. NetSafe is paused, though, and we didn’t find another bank offering throwaway numbers on its own pages.
A virtual debit card is the same idea on a savings account. The money leaves your account straight away, so there’s no bill, no interest and no credit check.
Which banks offer a virtual credit card in India?
Three virtual credit cards were available when we checked: Scapia Federal, ICICI and Kiwi. HDFC Bank’s NetSafe virtual card is switched off for now, and we found no virtual credit card on SBI Card’s or Axis Bank’s pages.
| Card | What you get | Forex mark-up | Fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scapia Federal credit card | A new credit card. The virtual card can be activated straight away and the plastic one arrives in 2 to 5 days | 0% | No joining or annual fee |
| ICICI Bank credit cards | A virtual copy of your approved card in iMobile Pay, with a spending limit you set | As per your card’s terms | As per your card’s terms |
| Kiwi RuPay credit card | A credit card for UPI payments, usable as a virtual card as soon as you’re approved | Not stated | Lifetime free, says Kiwi |
| HDFC Bank NetSafe | Single-use numbers on an HDFC card | Temporarily unavailable | |
Scapia’s card is issued by Federal Bank. You must be a resident Indian aged 21 to 65 if salaried, or 25 to 65 if self-employed, and pass the bank’s usual credit checks. Kiwi’s cards are issued with Yes Bank and AU Small Finance Bank.
Virtual debit cards
If you don’t have a credit card, or don’t want one, a virtual debit card does most of the same jobs. These four are on the banks’ own pages:
| Card | Who can get it | Fee | Forex mark-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| SBI Virtual Debit Card | SBI savings account holders | Free at present | Not on the card’s page |
| Kotak 811 Virtual Debit Card | 811 savings account holders (not 811 Lite) | Rs 399 a year including tax | 3.5% |
| Axis Bank E-Debit Card | Accounts opened online through video KYC | No annual fee | 3.5%, plus GST |
| IDFC FIRST Bank virtual debit card | Digital savings account customers | Not on the pages we read | 2% plus taxes |
SBI’s card is the cheapest to hold and the most limited. It can spend up to Rs 50,000 a day online, can’t withdraw cash, and SBI allows one per account and two online requests a year. Axis also lists a 3.5% mark-up on dynamic currency conversion, where a foreign merchant bills you in rupees, so choosing rupees at a foreign checkout doesn’t dodge the fee. Its E-Debit card also can’t be replaced or renewed once it expires.
Which virtual card works for international payments?
Most bank-issued virtual cards can pay a foreign website once you switch international use on. What changes from card to card is the fee on each payment, and on a big purchase that adds up fast.
- 0% mark-up: Scapia Federal (credit), Niyo Global (debit) and Jupiter’s Federal Bank debit card, where Jupiter adds that “standard network charges may apply”
- 2% plus taxes: IDFC FIRST Bank debit cards
- 3.5%: Kotak debit cards, Axis E-Debit, and SBI Card credit cards (plus taxes)
At 3.5%, a Rs 20,000 software licence billed in dollars costs you Rs 700 more before GST. On a zero-mark-up card it costs the converted price.
Niyo Global is a physical travel card rather than a virtual one, issued by DCB Bank or SBM Bank (India) depending on the version. It has no joining or annual fee, and you load it in rupees and spend in other currencies. If you mostly need a card for a trip abroad, it belongs on your shortlist.
Two kinds of card are poor picks for foreign sites. RuPay credit cards built for UPI, such as Kiwi and Jupiter’s Edge+, are made for scanning QR codes in India, and neither says it works on overseas websites. Prepaid wallets are worse. RBI’s prepaid rules say rupee wallets and prepaid cards can’t be used across borders, apart from full-KYC ones issued by banks, and even those need you to ask and stay within Rs 10,000 a payment and Rs 50,000 a month. That’s why this list has no wallet cards.
How do you get a virtual card and switch on international use?
You get the card in your bank’s app, then turn on online and international use as a separate step. RBI requires every new or reissued card, “physical and virtual”, to start out working only at ATMs and shop terminals in India. A brand new virtual card will be declined on a foreign site until you change that setting.
- SBI: in YONO, open Cards, then SBI Debit Card, then Request for new Card, and pick Virtual Debit Card. Turn on online and international use under Cards, SBI Debit Card, Manage Limit/Usage. Internet Banking, an SBI ATM or a branch can also do it.
- Kotak 811: in the Kotak 811 & Mobile Banking app, tap 811, open the Virtual Debit Card tab and tap Get One Now. International payments need full KYC, and you enable them separately.
- ICICI: in iMobile Pay, open Cards & Forex, choose your credit card and tap Manage Card to switch on online and international use.
- Axis: switch on international use in the Axis app, in Internet Banking or at a branch.
- IDFC FIRST: in the mobile app, go to Accounts, then Cards, pick your debit card and tap the eye icon with your MPIN to see the card details. International use is off by default and is switched on in mobile or net banking.
- Scapia Federal: once you’re approved, Federal Bank says the virtual card “can be activated immediately” in the app.
Since 1 October 2026, banks have also had to be able to check a one-off foreign online payment when the overseas merchant asks for authentication. So a foreign checkout may now ask for an OTP or an app approval, the way an Indian site does.
Can you use a virtual card for subscriptions and free trials?
Yes, as long as the card is still valid and has room under its limit when the payment comes round. RBI rewrote the rules for repeat card payments on 21 April 2026, replacing eight older circulars with one e-mandate framework.
Under it, a repeat payment of up to Rs 15,000 can go through without you approving it each time. Insurance premiums, mutual fund investments and credit card bills get a higher ceiling of Rs 1,00,000. Your bank has to warn you at least 24 hours before each debit, with the merchant’s name, the amount and the date, and changing or cancelling a mandate needs your approval.
Pick the card to match the job. For Netflix or a cloud bill you want to keep, use a card that won’t expire or hit its limit soon. For a free trial you don’t plan to keep, set a low limit on the virtual card where your bank allows it (ICICI does), or cancel the mandate before the trial ends.
Is a virtual card safer than a physical card?
It’s safer for shopping on a site you don’t know, because you decide the limit and how long the number works. If a low-limit number leaks, the most anyone can take is the limit you set.
Indian shops already can’t keep your real card number. Since 1 October 2022, anyone in the payment chain other than your bank and the card network has been barred from storing card details, so a “saved card” on an Indian site is a token. A virtual card doesn’t protect you if someone gets into your phone or banking app, though, since that’s where the card lives. Keep the app locked.
Which virtual card apps have closed or changed?
Several names from older lists, including the 2018 version of this guide, no longer work the way they did.
| App or card | What changed | When |
|---|---|---|
| Fi Money | Federal Bank ended the partnership and the app shut. Existing accounts carry on in Federal Bank’s FedMobile app, and no new accounts open through Fi | 31 March 2026 (partnership), 6 May 2026 (app) |
| OneCard | Partner banks were reportedly told by RBI to stop taking new OneCard customers while data sharing was reviewed. We found no report that sign-ups have restarted | Since December 2025 |
| Slice | Merged with North East Small Finance Bank and is now Slice Small Finance Bank, offering a UPI credit card. Its old prepaid card with a credit line stopped after RBI’s June 2022 rule | October 2024 |
| HDFC NetSafe | Shown as “temporarily unavailable due to technical enhancements”, with a new version promised “shortly” | Undated notice, still up in October 2026 |
Which one should you pick?
If you pay foreign websites often and can get a credit card, get Scapia Federal. It’s the only credit card here that publishes a 0% mark-up, it costs nothing to hold, and the virtual card works the day you’re approved. Turn on international use before your first payment.
Already have an ICICI credit card? Use its virtual card in iMobile Pay for shopping on sites you’re unsure about, and set a low limit on it.
No credit card, and an SBI account? SBI’s virtual debit card is free right now and needs only YONO. Kotak 811’s costs Rs 399 a year and adds 3.5% abroad, so it only makes sense if Kotak is already your bank. For a trip overseas, Niyo Global’s zero mark-up beats all of them.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free virtual credit card in India?
Yes. Scapia Federal has no joining or annual fee and no forex mark-up, and Kiwi describes its RuPay card as lifetime free. On the debit side, SBI’s virtual debit card is issued free at present.
Does HDFC Bank have a virtual credit card?
Not right now. HDFC’s NetSafe page says the virtual card facility is temporarily unavailable and that a new version will launch shortly. It gives no date.
Does ICICI Bank have a virtual credit card?
Yes, for its credit card customers. Once your physical ICICI credit card is approved, a virtual version with its own card number, CVV and expiry date appears in iMobile Pay, and you can set a spending limit on it.
Can I use a virtual debit card for international transactions?
Yes, once you switch international use on. Kotak 811 also needs full KYC, and SBI caps online spending at Rs 50,000 a day. Expect a 2% to 3.5% mark-up on the bank debit cards we checked, and 0% on Niyo Global and Jupiter.
Why does my virtual card get declined on foreign websites?
Check the card’s settings first. Every Indian card starts with online and international use off, and banks often treat them as separate switches, so turn on both. After that, check the daily limit, and whether the card is a RuPay UPI card or a prepaid wallet card, which usually can’t pay overseas sites.
Is there TCS on international credit card payments?
Ask your card issuer before a large overseas purchase. In May 2023 the government said overseas credit card spending would come under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, then deferred the change in June 2023. We found no later notice that settles it, so we won’t quote a rate.
What to do now
Open your bank’s app and check whether online and international use are both on for the card you plan to use. Then look up its forex mark-up in the fee table. If it’s 3.5% and you pay in dollars every month, compare it with a zero-mark-up card before your next big foreign payment.
Sources
- RBI, Enhancing Security of Card Transactions (15 January 2020)
- RBI, Digital Payments: E-mandate Framework, 2026 (21 April 2026), and MediaNama’s summary
- RBI, Authentication mechanisms for digital payment transactions Directions, 2025 (25 September 2025)
- RBI, card-on-file tokenisation circular and Master Direction on Prepaid Payment Instruments
- RBI, Liberalised Remittance Scheme FAQ, and Business Standard on the May 2023 change and its deferral
- Federal Bank, Federal Scapia credit card and fintech partnerships
- ICICI Bank, virtual credit card and credit card FAQs
- Kotak Mahindra Bank, 811 virtual debit card
- HDFC Bank, NetSafe and the NetSafe FAQ
- SBI, Virtual Debit Card, and SBI Card, international usage FAQ
- Axis Bank, E-Debit Card
- IDFC FIRST Bank, debit cards and finding your debit card number
- Niyo Global, Jupiter savings account, Jupiter Edge+ and Kiwi
- TechCrunch on Fi winding down (March 2026), Entrackr on OneCard (April 2026), MediaNama on Slice’s bank merger (October 2024) and Business Standard on the 2022 credit-line rule
Changelog
24 Oct 2026: rewritten for 2026. It replaces a list first published on 27 March 2018 that recommended wallet-based virtual cards.