Visa announces major changes that will see Americans carry fewer cards in their wallets

  • The 16-digit code on credit and debit cards will likely become obsolete in the US
  • Banks can issue one payment card linked to multiple accounts
  • The new feature is already being used in Asia and will be released in the US by this summer

Visa is changing the way its debit and credit cards work to reduce the number of physical cards Americans have to carry.

The new features, which will be available by summer, will allow banks to issue one physical payment card linked to multiple bank accounts.

It means your wallet can become thinner since there’s no need to carry, say, a Bank of America or Chase debit card and their respective credit cards.

Americans will be able to adjust their payment settings with their bank so that all purchases under $100 or at a particular merchant can be made via their debit card, while other purchases can be made via their credit card.

Visa says the new features being introduced could make the 16-digit code you have to enter every time you shop on a new website obsolete

Visa says this could eliminate the 16-digit code you have to enter every time you shop on a new website.

“I think (with these features) we’ll get past the point where consumers may never have to manually enter an account number again,” said Mark Nelsen, Visa’s Global Head of Consumer Payments.

The new payment regime Visa is rolling out marks the biggest changes to the way purchasing works in the US since companies introduced chip-embedded cards several years ago.

This is because the payments landscape has diversified in recent years to include buy now, pay later companies, peer-to-peer payment options, paying directly with a bank or digital payment systems such as Apple Pay.

Buy now, pay later company Affirm will be the first Visa customer to roll out the card kill feature.

Visa said the decision to shake things up is in response to excessive fraud in online payments. The San Francisco-based company estimates that payment fraud occurs about seven times more often online than in person.

Mark Nelsen, Visa's Global Head of Consumer Payments, believes a time is approaching when consumers may never have to manually enter an account number again

Mark Nelsen, Visa’s Global Head of Consumer Payments, believes a time is approaching when consumers may never have to manually enter an account number again

The Apple Card also spurred the change as it does not come with a printed 16-digit account number. As part of this, Apple Card users can request a new credit card number at any time without having to have the physical card.

There will be other useful adjustments to the tap-to-pay options on smartphones.

Americans will soon be able to tap their credit or debit card to their phone to add the card to their mobile wallet, instead of using a smartphone’s camera to scan the card information.

They can also tap their card against their phone to approve online transactions, or tap a friend’s phone to send them money.

It will take some time for the new features to be rolled out by individual banks, who will decide when and what to implement for their customers.