South African alternative payment provider Net1 UEPS Technologies Inc. announced it has signed a contract with Banamex bank to deliver a mobile virtual card application designed for card-not-present (CNP) transactions. Net1 has inked the deal with Banamex, a leading bank in Mexico and a part of Citigroup, through its Net1 Universal Technologies subsidiary.

According to an announcement of the agreement, Banamex will offer Net1's VCpay product to its customers as a mobile app that can be linked to the customer's credit and/or debit card accounts. The VCpay application generates a one-time use mobile virtual card number for a specific limit or purchase amount to be used for any offline transaction.

Virtual card numbers can be used just like traditional credit or debit cards, but they expire as soon as they are authorized for a purchase. Net1 said in its announcement that virtual cards cannot be skimmed, phished, tapped, cloned, replayed or modified.

"The offline nature of MVC ensures that virtual cards can be generated anywhere and anytime regardless of network coverage or availability, thus providing a 100-percent service resulting in the best possible customer experience while minimizing any service disruptions," Dr. Serge Belamant, Net1's Chairman and CEO, said in the announcement.

Belamant added that the virtual cards will open some new opportunities between the U.S. and Mexico, especially regarding money remittance and bill payment.