NAB Virtual Digital Card. Let's see what’s on offer?

Digital cards, virtual cards or internet cards - all interchangeable terms to describe a new way to pay that has replaced the need to carry around your physical bank card. Many banks are beginning to offer digital card options to their customers, making in-store or online payments even more convenient.

National Australia Bank or NAB, as it is more commonly known as, is no exception, having their own version of a digital card accessibility. This article will go through what exactly NAB offers in this space and introduce you to Wise, an alternative which has even more on offer in terms of digital cards.

💸 Hold over 40 currencies in your account, generate multiple virtual cards and spend at the real exchange rate at home or while abroad.

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Wise Digital Cards

What is a Virtual or Digital card?

A digital card is a digital representation of a debit or credit card that is stored on a smart device and has payment capabilities.

Types of Digital cards

There are two types of digital cards that banks may offer to their customers. The types of digital cards are as follows:

• The first type of digital card is a digital version of a physical bank card.
• The second type of digital card are those that can be created virtually with no link to any physical card. They can be created and used without any need of an accompanied physical card for online payments. They can also come in the form of disposable digital cards used for one-off payments online.

Both types can be used either by being added to your own digital wallet on your device or through a mobile banking application.

Does NAB offer a Digital card?

NAB offers its customers a digital version of any eligible physical cards they have and payments are made via NAB pay and Apple pay only.² This allows you to start spending before the physical card arrives.

However, when you add your NAB card to a digital wallet, a unique card number is generated for added security and privacy, so that your actual card number is never stored or provided to merchants.¹ This is a form of user generated digital card, but it requires you to use a digital paying wallet.

Read more: NAB International Transfers. All you need to know

What is NAB pay and Apple Pay?

NAB pay is part of the NAB app and allows customers to make quick and easy contactless payments via an eligible Android device linking directly with your existing NAB Visa debit card.²

Apple pay is the alternative for IOS devices and works as a digital wallet and payment system where a digital version of your NAB card is stored to make contactless payments or in app payments that state a “Buy with Apple pay” option.³

Benefits of using NAB Pay and Apple Pay

Other than getting to leave your actual card at home, there are several other benefits of using NAB pay and Apple Pay. These include:²

• For NAB Pay, using your smartphone to make contactless payments anywhere Visa payWave is accepted both locally and internationally.⁴
• For Apple pay, you can use your digital card anywhere “tap and pay” is available³
• You can make contactless pin-free payments for up to $100, and if you go over you can just input your pin just like you would with your physical card
• You will have the same level of security and fraud protection as you would using your physical card.
• For Apple pay, have the added level of security by requiring either a face ID, fingerprint ID or passcode verification for every payment³

How to manage your NAB card with the NAB App

You can manage your NAB cards via the NAB app. Once logged in, set up can begin from clicking the “My Cards” option on the bottom menu bar for both options.

For NAB pay (Android)

From “My cards,” you will be taken through several prompts. These cover⁴:

• Choosing which card you want to set up (there can be multiple)
• Choosing how you want to use NAB Pay, quick pay which has no security prompt once set up, fingerprint to pay or with to pay by passcode

For Apple pay (IOS)

From “My cards,” you will be taken through several prompts. They will cover⁵:

• Choosing which card you would like to set up
• Choosing which apple device you want apple pay and your digital card to be added to
• Reading and accepting the terms and conditions that include Apple pay terms and NAB terms via the digital wallet
• Verifying your card via text
• Finalising your NAB card by viewing it in the digital wallet

Once activated, customers can pay by placing the back of their phones against a “tap and pay” payment terminal. Both systems require a working Near Field Communication (NFC) chip in order to process successful contactless purchases when tapping a device.⁶

NAB vs Wise card fees

Now that we have gone over what NAB offers in terms of digital cards, let’s do a comparison of features and fees using the standard Visa debit card offered by NAB with Wise who also offer their customers digital cards.

Features and Fees	NAB²	Wise
Physical Card order fee	No fee	10 AUD
Digital card order fee	Not Available	Free
Monthly card maintenance fee	None	None
Can create multiple cards with new details/Deleted	No (except you use a digital wallet)	Yes — Have up to 3 virtual cards at a time
International payments fee % for spending 100 AUD in GBP	3% fee on any foreign currency transactions	0.44% feeFor example, when spending 100 AUD in GBP, you will only be charged 0.44 AUD cents to make the conversion. See our spend calculator here
Exchange rate used for international transactions	NAB FX rate (includes a margin)⁷	Mid-market rate

What are the payment limits of using your NAB card with NAB Pay / Apple Pay?

As mentioned, pin free payments can be made for payments up to $100 AUD. For payments above this, a pin will be requested.¹

Contact details for NAB bank.

If you need to contact NAB bank, you can contact them by⁶:

• Calling 13 22 65 from within Australia
• Calling +61386419121 from overseas
• Visiting a local branch

Wise Digital and Virtual cards

When it comes to digital cards, Wise offers all main types of digital cards to its customers.

You’ll be able to get the physical Wise debit card with its virtual pair that can be added to a digital wallet. You’ll be able to create up to 3 brand new Wise virtual card, a completely separate digital card from your physical card and can be used for any purchase or payment in security and privacy.

In order to get and use a Wise virtual card, all you need to do is to sign up to a Wise multi-currency account and reside in an eligible region for a Wise debit card.

With this account, you’ll be able to make cheap and easy local and international purchases using the mid market conversion rate. You will also be able to hold and convert over 40 currencies, while being able to use your card in 150+ countries worldwide.

Register your Wise account in minutes 🚀

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Sources:

1. NAB digital wallets and limits
2. NAB Visa Debit card FAQs including NAB Pay and Apple Pay
3. NABApple Pay
4. NAB pay what is it, how it works, the benefits
5. NAB app guide to Apple pay
6. NAB Terms and conditions NFC and contactless purchases and Contact NAB
7. NAB FX Rate Margin
   Sources checked on: 7 March 2022