Safari will be able to manage virtual payment cards with iOS 16

The third beta of iOS 16 released last night announces a new feature in Safari and Maps: support for virtual payment cards. This function offered by some banks allows you to generate a temporary payment card with a different number from the physical card you use on a daily basis. Like the email addresses generated on the fly by iCloud+, it adds a layer of security by avoiding revealing information that is difficult to change. In the event of a problem, the virtual card number can easily be deactivated, without blocking your physical card.

This new feature is not yet active, but 9TB5 Mac got its hands on phrases stored in iOS 16 beta 3 that show Apple is laying the groundwork. Safari will be able to autofill payment fields on websites using the virtual card. It is not yet known whether this is a function that will be reserved for a few users or widely available. Will Apple provide the temporary card number using its own financial services, in which case it will be restricted to the United States? Or is it an agreement with banks to pass on the additional number?

For now, we don’t have more details, but this new feature will probably be activated in the final version of iOS 16 or in a future minor update. As a reminder, Apple Pay uses a similar technique, but even more aggressive: each payment is made with a different card number from the point of view of the seller. This feature is still useful for websites that don’t accept Apple’s payment service.

Another novelty noted by the site and related to payment cards: if you fill in the information of an Apple Pay compatible card in Safari, iOS 16 will offer you to add it immediately to the Cards app. This could save time, and above all convince a few more users to activate the service… Apple Pay”.