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Mbrella Pay - What is the difference between a virtual and physical card?
Mbrella Pay - What is the difference between a virtual and physical card?

In this article we explain what exactly is the difference between the virtual and physical Mbrella Pay card.

Manon Lambert avatar
Written by Manon Lambert
Updated over 8 months ago

When activating Mbrella Pay you might have the possibility to choose between a virtual and a physical card (this depends on what your company wants to offer). It is not possible to have both a virtual and a physical card for the same budget.

But what is then the difference between an virtual and physical card? Glad you're asking!

Physical card

A physical Mbrella Pay card can be used in the same way as a normal payment card. You can use it when paying for mobility solutions in a shop, or you can use the information on the card to link your card to an online app.

You will not be able to use the card at your local bakery or Uber Eats (yes, we know you tried...).

Virtual card

A virtual card is a payment card that only exists in a virtual form. You can use it to purchase mobility online and in apps. It works for the exact same mobility merchants as a physical Mbrella Pay card.

It just lacks the usual magstripe or Chip & Pin action since it's not a physical card. So you cannot purchase mobility at physical stores (like an SNCB machine). That's the only difference with a physical Mbrella Pay card.

Adding your virtual card to the Apple Wallet, Google Pay, etc. is not possible.

Other than that, it's got a 16-digit number, an expiry date, and a CVV, just like your regular card.

Note that there are different costs related to the different types of card. Read more about it here.

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