Digital banks adopt card without number and banks hesitate – 04/25/2023 – Market

Customers of digital banks have access to physical cards without sensitive data, such as the number, expiration date and security code — a design that receives the name numberless (without number, in English). Among the traditional financial institutions operating in Brazil, only Santander has adopted the model, which has been in use abroad for about ten years.

This financial product encourages customers to create digital cards, considered safer for online transactions, since numbers are renewed from time to time, says the head of cybersecurity at C6, José Luiz Santana.

According to Abecs (Brazilian Association of Credit Card and Services Companies), remote purchases moved BRL 700 billion in 2022. The amount represents 40% of transactions made with a credit card in the year and is 28% higher than BRL 570 billion registered in 2021.

C6 claims that more than 70% of the purchases it refuses for security reasons come from the internet. Today, only around 30% of its customers use the digital card for these transactions. “This number is high, since our customers in general are more used to technology”, says Santana.

Therefore, fintech began testing the model without a number on 30% of new cards issued since the beginning of this year. The company claims that it has not yet received complaints, but is in contact with customers to test whether it will adopt the model with all its account holders.

Santander and Nubank also offer the possibility of adopting the numberless model, while XP, Neon, iti (Itau’s digital bank) and Credicard deliver cards without a number on the stripe to all customers.

On Twitter, however, some customers report difficulties they experienced after receiving cards without numbers by the bank’s option.

Thiago Assis, an iti customer from Rio de Janeiro, says that his digital card suffers loading failures. “I am obliged to conclude digital purchases on PicPay”, he told Sheet.

On the website Reclame Aqui, which registers anonymous complaints against companies, the report found four similar complaints.

Sought after by Itaú Unibanco, iti says it invests in products and services to ensure the best experience for customers, who can use the service channels to check and solve specific problems, such as those mentioned above.

In one of the complaints registered on Reclame Aqui, the customer was able to solve his problem after several calls to the bank’s call center.

Cearense Sammy Carvalho, a client of Credicard —which belongs to Itaú Unibanco—, also complained about the model without a number on Twitter.

She had to change card and cell phone at the same time. The stripe came without a number, as usual, and the Credicard application on the cell phone did not accept its face for authentication. Thus, Sammy was left without access to the digital card. Questioned, Itaú did not comment on the case.

In its main operation, Itaú works only with cards with a number, although it has been offering a digital card since September. The report asked the bank about choosing to offer cards without numbers only in its smaller operations, but the bank did not respond to the question.

Nubank offers the service without a number on its Nubank Ultravioleta premium card, under the Mastercard Black brand. Fintech claims that sensitive customer data is more protected within the application than inscribed on plastic. The digital bank also offers other products with numbers.

To shop online with the Ultravioleta card, simply generate a virtual card through the application. “Nubank’s virtual card has a different number, expiration date and security code than the standard established on the physical card. Another advantage is that the card can be canceled or blocked by the application itself in just a few clicks, in case of suspicion that the numbering has been exposed “, says Nubank.

Neon, in turn, has only issued cards without a number since 2020, and the customer cannot request the number on the physical card. The digital bank automatically generates a numbered virtual card following account creation.

“We do this so that the customer is more secure against fraud, especially in online purchases. The customer can block the card in a few seconds, if it does not recognize a purchase”, he says in a note.

The XP Visa Infinite card also adopts the numberless model. It is possible to request the product after investing BRL 5,000 in the investment bank. MoneyPag’s Elo credit card also comes without numbers on the plastic.