Merchant-Locked Cards are a unique type of virtual card that are tied to a specific merchant. This ensures that a breach at one merchant doesn't put you at risk across the internet. These cards are ideal for subscriptions, recurring payments, and merchants you plan to shop with again. Merchant-Locked Cards are available across all Privacy paid plans.
How does a Merchant-Locked Card work?
Merchant-Locked Cards are designed to be locked to a single merchant. Our locking rules are based on the Merchant Descriptors that merchants pass through. This is the same Merchant Descriptor information you will see on your Transactions list when you log into your privacy.com account. Sometimes, merchants use slightly different Merchant Descriptors depending on what type of product you are purchasing from them. For example, Amazon purchases may have Merchant Descriptors like “Amazon.com” or “AMAZON MKTPL*”. Our locking logic allows for this type of nuance.
When you create a Merchant-Locked Card, it is not locked to a certain merchant until you make a transaction. Once you make a transaction at a merchant, then the card is locked to that merchant.
When you use your Merchant-Locked Card for subsequent transactions, our system checks whether the merchant matches the original merchant you locked the card to. If the merchant matches and the transaction falls within the additional card rules, the transaction will be approved. If the transaction exceeds your card's limits or your card is paused, it will be declined.