KB Kookmin-MasterCard to Introduce Virtual Card No. Scheme for Overseas Online Shoppers

The service will be provided free of charge to all KB MasterCard users, including the users of the KB MasterCard debit card.(image: Kobizmedia/Korea Bizwire)

SEOUL, Sep. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — KB Kookmin Card will introduce a virtual credit card number scheme for those shopping in overseas retail sites such as Amazon.com. On September 25, KB Kookmin Card said that it would unveil the “SecurePay” service, in partnership with MasterCard, that would protects users from personal information theft.

The service gives out a virtual credit card number instead of a real one when the user makes a transaction with foreign retailers. The virtual number thus provided will be rendered useless once it passes a certain expiration date set by the user. The service will be provided free of charge to all KB MasterCard users, including the users of the KB MasterCard debit card.

The virtual number can be set by the user directly by visiting the KB Kookmin Card website or mobile web page. The user can pick any one of the three choices including one-time payment limit, monthly payment limit, and user-defined limit.

The user can also generate multiple virtual card numbers for a single card with different limits depending on the purpose. The number may be discarded even before expiration at the user’s request.

Jang Yong-il, head of KB Kookmin Card’s international business, said, “As most overseas online retailers store their customers’ credit card payment information in their servers, it is easy for hackers to find out and cause serious financial damages to credit card users. We will try to reduce the incidence of card number theft significantly by introducing the virtual credit card number scheme.”

By M.H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)