Tutorial on Applying / Recharging / Consuming Foreign Virtual Credit Cards

Some services abroad (such as DeepL, ChatGPT, Gemini) generally require a foreign credit card to consume, and foreign physical credit cards basically need to be local residents to apply.

However, foreign virtual credit cards can also be used to consume on foreign websites, and there is no geographical restriction, so you can apply without leaving home. Here is a detailed tutorial on foreign virtual credit cards.

1. Find a platform that supports applying for foreign virtual credit cards

First, we need to find a platform that supports applying for foreign virtual credit cards. Although there are many such platforms online, their operation methods are similar.

A virtual credit card platform will have at least the following three parts:

• Wallet. It is necessary to pay to open a card / recharge the card. You need to recharge the amount into the platform's wallet in advance, and then use the funds in the wallet to open the card / recharge the card.
• Open card. Used to apply for a foreign virtual credit card.
• Customer service. Important pre-sales / after-sales channels.

This tutorial will take Dupay as an example (the reason for using Dupay will be explained later), to introduce how to apply for a foreign virtual credit card on the platform. So we need to register an account on Dupay first.

Click this link to register a Dupay account

Note: Dupay's website occasionally has problems with links / buttons not responding when clicked. In this case, you need to click the browser's Refresh button to refresh the page and try again.

2. Understand the relevant fees and usage rules in advance

Foreign virtual credit cards are actually "prepaid cards"

Although the name is "credit card", in fact, foreign virtual credit cards are basically "prepaid cards", that is, you need to recharge the card in advance, and then you can consume. If the amount in your card is insufficient, the website will prompt you that the deduction has failed when trying to deduct the payment.

In short: Foreign virtual credit cards are prepaid cards used as credit cards, without the "advance consumption" ability of general credit cards.

About the platform for applying for virtual credit cards

There are many platforms that can apply for virtual credit cards on the market. Before using them, you need to understand some rules in advance.

• Recharge method. Some platforms support WeChat / Alipay recharge, while others do not support it, only support USDT recharge.
• Minimum recharge amount. Some platforms require a minimum recharge amount of xxx yuan each time. Considering the possibility of the platform running away with the money, the lower the minimum recharge amount, the better.
• Whether real-name authentication is required.

The platform may support the application of multiple credit cards, and you need to understand the information of each credit card in advance, including but not limited to:

• Currency. The most common is the US dollar (USD), and some platforms also support applying for credit cards in other currencies.
• Fees. The most common are the opening card fee and the recharge handling fee.
• Opening card fee, that is, the one-time fee that needs to be paid for each application for a credit card.
• The recharge handling fee is generally a percentage, and an additional deduction will be made each time you recharge according to this percentage. For example, for a credit card with a recharge handling fee of 1.4%, when you recharge 10 US dollars into the card, the platform will deduct an additional 0.14 US dollars, a total of 10.14 US dollars.
• Some platforms may also set monthly fees / annual fees / consumption handling fees, etc.
• Stability. Some platforms support multiple credit cards, but they will remove a batch every once in a while, and then replace them with a new batch. This will cause the credit card you applied for before to become invalid, and you need to pay the opening card fee again, and rebind the credit card in various websites. This means that you need to pay the opening card fee again every once in a while, and rebind the credit card in various websites.
• Usage scene restrictions. Some platforms have strict usage scene restrictions on various credit cards, such as a certain credit card only supports use on a few specific websites.
• Usage rules. Some platforms have very strict usage rules for credit cards, generally need to confirm:
• Whether refunds are supported.
• Whether the card will be forcibly cancelled after multiple failed deductions.
• Whether the card will be forcibly cancelled when the deduction amount is lower than a certain amount.
• Whether to provide name, address, postal code and other information. Foreign websites require a lot of information when binding a credit card, in addition to the most basic card number, expiration date, CVV security code, they also require you to fill in information such as name, address, postal code, etc. However, some platforms only provide the three basic information, and other information is not available, so when binding the card, you need to find a virtual address online by yourself. However, some websites will strictly check whether the name, address and other information you fill in are consistent with the credit card, if they are inconsistent, they will not allow binding, so it is recommended to open a card on a platform that can provide complete information.
• Whether it is tax-free. There are five tax-free states in the United States. If the credit card opening place provided by the virtual credit card platform you use is not in a tax-free state, then you may need to pay additional taxes when consuming, such as a service with a price of 19 US dollars, and finally paid 20.86 US dollars.
• Expiration date. Generally three years.

These situations must be understood clearly before applying, and if you don't understand, consult the platform's customer service.

Why use Dupay as an example?

The disadvantage of Dupay is that it is more troublesome:

• Real-name authentication is required when opening a card.
• Recharge does not support WeChat / Alipay, and USDT is required.

However, Dupay has many advantages:

• The minimum recharge amount is very low (as of April 10, 2024, it is 0.5 US dollars, while other platforms basically require around 300 RMB)
• Credit cards have almost no usage restrictions
• Provide complete credit card information
• The opening place of the card is in a tax-free state
• The cardholder's name is your own name

Click this link to register a Dupay account

Note: Dupay's website occasionally has problems with links / buttons not responding when clicked. In this case, you need to click the browser's Refresh button to refresh the page and try again.

Example of Dupay

You can go to Dupay's [Card] page, click [Apply Card], and then you can see the opening card fee / handling fee and usage restrictions of Dupay's various credit cards.

As of April 10, 2024, the relevant fees of Dupay's USD currency credit cards are as follows:

	Advanced Card	Platinum Card	Black Gold Card
Monthly fee	0.5 USD	0	0
Recharge handling fee	1.6%	1.4%	1.2%
Opening card fee	20 USDT	50 USDT	Invite 20 people to open a card and get a gift

3. Buy USDT

Dupay currently only supports USDT recharge, so here is how to buy USDT. Some virtual credit card platforms support direct WeChat / Alipay recharge, so you can skip this step.

Click to view the steps

What is USDT?

Similar to Bitcoin (BTC), USDT is also a virtual currency, but its value is pegged to the US dollar, that is, 1 USDT is approximately equal to 1 US dollar.

This tutorial uses Binance to buy USDT. Binance is a virtual currency trading platform, and there should be similar alternative methods on other virtual currency trading platforms.

Note: Binance needs a ladder to open.

3.1 Register a Binance account

Through the following link, follow the prompts to register a Binance account. The link has an invitation code, and you can get some discounts after registering.

Click to register a Binance account

3.2 Buy USDT

After registering the account, open the Binance C2C trading quick zone page.

Enter the quantity of USDT you want to buy, and the webpage will update the amount of RMB you need to pay in real time.

The USDT purchased on Binance needs to be used after 24 hours, so it is recommended to calculate the quantity you want to buy in advance.

For example, if you want to open a Dupay platinum card (50 USDT), and then need to consume 20 US dollars, considering various handling fees (estimated at 5 US dollars), you can buy 75 USDT.

After confirming the quantity you want to buy, click Buy USDT, and then choose your preferred payment method (Alipay or WeChat), and finally click Confirm Purchase.

3.3 Complete real-name authentication

The first time you trade, Binance will prompt you to complete real-name authentication, and you need to upload your ID card and complete the video authentication. Follow the prompts to complete it.

After completing the real-name authentication, repeat the steps in 3.2 to buy normally.

3.4 Payment

After clicking Confirm Purchase in 3.2, Binance will generate an order, and the order will have the payment method. Some sellers may have additional requirements, such as providing payment proof, noting the order number, etc., so be sure to read the requirements in the order carefully when paying.

After completing the payment, click I have completed the payment, notify the other party, and you will receive the USDT in about 5 minutes. You can open the Binance wallet overview page to confirm whether the USDT has arrived.

Reminder: The USDT you purchased will enter a 24-hour freeze period first, and then you can recharge it to Dupay.

3.5 Recharge Binance's USDT to Dupay

First, open the Dupay wallet page, click Deposit, select USDT as the currency, and select BNB SMART CHAIN (BEP20) as the network. Then you will see a recharge address, copy this address for later use.

Then, open the Binance wallet overview page, click Withdraw, select USDT as the currency, paste the Dupay recharge address you copied into the address column, select BSC as the transfer network, enter the quantity you want to transfer, and check Funds Account below, and finally click Withdraw.

After about 5 to 10 minutes, you will see the USDT you recharged into Dupay on the Dupay wallet page.

About "Transfer Network"

Although the names are different, Dupay's BNB SMART CHAIN (BEP20) and Binance's BSC are the same network, the latter is actually the abbreviation of the former's initials.

In addition, when you choose the network in Binance / Dupay, you will find that in addition to BNB SMART CHAIN (BEP20), there are many other networks. One thing to note is that the transfer fees for different networks are different. As of April 10, 2024, in Binance, the lowest fee is for BSC, which is 0.33 USDT / time.

If you want to switch to another network, remember to use the corresponding recharge address, for example, if you choose the Polygon recharge address in Dupay, then when withdrawing in Binance, you must also choose the Polygon network.

4. Open card

When you have enough amount in your wallet, you can open a card. Taking Dupay as an example:

On the Dupay [Card] page, click [Apply Card], select a card with USD currency, and then click [Open Card].

The first time you open a card, you need to do KYC certification (Know Your Customer, which can be understood as real-name authentication), you need to upload your ID card and certification video, follow the prompts to operate. After completing the certification, click [Apply Card] again.

After completing the card opening, you can see your card on the Dupay [Card] page.

Dupay directly deducts USDT when opening a card, while other platforms may require you to exchange it into USD first, and then pay the opening card fee in USD.

5. Recharge the card

When recharging the card, you generally need to exchange the corresponding currency of the credit card first, and then settle it with this currency. For example, if you recharge RMB into the card, and you apply for a USD credit card, then you need to exchange RMB into USD in the wallet first, and then recharge it into the card.

Here at Dupay, we recharge USDT, apply for a USD credit card, so we need to exchange USDT into USD first, and then recharge it into the card.

The specific operation steps are as follows:

1. Go to the Dupay [Wallet] - [Real-time Exchange] page, and exchange USDT for USD.
2. Go to the Dupay [Card] page, click [Recharge], enter the USD amount you want to recharge, and then click [Confirm].

About 2 minutes later, go back to the Dupay [Card] page, and you will see the balance in your credit card.

6. Consume

On the Dupay [Card] page, click [CVV Security Code], and you will see all the information of the credit card you applied for, such as the cardholder's name, card number, address, etc. Fill in this information on the website you want to consume, and you can consume normally.