Virtual cards are widely used in performance marketing today. They are fast to set up, easy to manage, and often the most practical way to pay for Meta and Google advertising.
Most people judge virtual card platforms by surface-level factors like minimum deposit, fees, card limits, and whether KYC is required. Those details matter, but they do not explain what makes a platform stable over time.
In reality, virtual card platforms sit in the middle of three forces: ad platforms, banks, and user behavior. Once you understand this triangle, many things in the market become much clearer. For example, why most platforms only support ad payments, why “0 fees” often does not mean cheaper, and why a very low first top-up requirement is not always user-friendly in the long run.
At Adpos, we often see teams choose platforms based on attractive headlines, then run into problems later. This article explains how virtual card platforms actually operate, where the main risks come from, and what risk-control boundaries look like in practice.
1) Virtual Cards and Agency Accounts Are Parallel Systems
A common question is whether virtual cards are better than agency ad accounts. The most realistic answer is that many teams use both, depending on the situation.
Meta and Google update their billing rules and risk signals frequently. When the environment changes, teams adjust their setup.
Virtual cards are usually cheaper and more flexible. They can be deployed quickly and give teams more control. At the same time, they require stronger operational discipline and risk control.
Agency accounts often last longer and reduce the amount of account setup work. However, they typically cost more and come with higher entry barriers.
This is why virtual cards and agency accounts are not simply replacing each other. They operate side by side.
2) Why Many Platforms Only Support Advertising Payments
Many people ask why some virtual card platforms often allow only advertising payments. In most cases, the reason is not technical. It is connected to banking expectations and compliance.
A compliant platform normally needs KYB checks. It also needs to explain to the issuing bank:
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What the business is
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Where the money comes from and where it goes
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Who is responsible
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What the payment use case is
From the bank’s view, ad payments are easier to explain and easier to track. That is why many platforms only open ad-related MCC (Merchant Category Codes).
If a platform opens all MCCs and allows any type of spending, risk becomes much higher very fast:
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The platform cannot clearly judge fund usage
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Fraud and abuse become easier
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Bank risk systems trigger more often
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Freezing and shutdown risks increase
So if you care about long-term stability, focusing on ad payments is often self-protection. Platforms like Adpos emphasize boundaries not because we want to restrict users, but because the real goal is sustainable delivery for stable customers.
Adpos applies strict controls on spending categories and currently supports payments only for advertising and AI-related services. For teams managing paid media at scale, this approach delivers enterprise-grade payment security and risk isolation, often proving more stable and predictable than connecting directly to traditional banking channels.
3) “Bad BINs” Are Often a Myth
People often say: “This BIN gets banned easily.”But in real risk logic, the BIN is usually not the real problem. Banks care more about behavior patterns.
High risk often happens when these behaviors appear together:
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High decline rate
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Users open many cards quickly and stop using them soon
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Very unusual spending speed and timing
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Funding sources do not match spending patterns
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Payment activities are hard to explain
If too many users behave like this, banks may think the platform itself is risky. Then even a normal BIN can become unstable.
So instead of looking for a “perfect BIN,” it is more important to check if the platform has:
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Good user screening and user tiers
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Early risk detection
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Monitoring and disposal mechanisms for abnormal transactions
Stability isn’t built by endlessly switching BINs. It’s built by running a system with strong controls.
Adpos works closely with top-tier banking partners and has over eight years of hands-on collaboration with banks in Hong Kong. This long-term relationship has built strong mutual trust between our platform and our banking partners. As a result, Adpos is able to respond quickly when unexpected issues arise, align efficiently with banks, and secure access to truly critical banking resources.
This includes exclusive BINs that have been tested and proven reliable on major advertising platforms.
4) The group that truly breaks platforms: First-Billing User
If you want to understand why platforms raise minimum top-ups, limit card quantities, and strengthen review processes, you need to understand one group: first billing users
Their typical behavior looks like this:
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deposit small amounts and use the service briefly
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spend quickly and disappear
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ad platforms attempt to charge again → transactions declined
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the card is already abandoned, blocked, or disabled
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but the platform has already incurred bank-side costs
The key point is: declines are not “free.” Banks and issuing partners set decline-rate thresholds. Once you exceed them, penalties and partnership risks follow. Platforms can only protect themselves by spreading those losses across all users, which hurts stable customers the most.
That’s why “the lower the minimum top-up, the better” is not always true. Low thresholds do attract new users, but they also attract large volumes of structurally high-risk users.
Stable platforms usually balance usability with safety: they restrict abnormal behavior, raise entry requirements, and enforce risk-control rules. Platforms like Adpos focus on protecting stable users instead of catering to short-term arbitrage.
5) Why “0% Fees and Cashback” Can Still Be Expensive
Many platforms advertise free cards, zero fees, and cashback. In practice, serious infrastructure has real costs. These include bank and network fees, compliance and monitoring, technical reliability, and support operations.
When costs are not charged clearly, they often appear indirectly. One common symptom is small drift between the platform balance and what the ad platform billing reflects. Sometimes the gap is only one to two percent, and it is easy to ignore. Over time, it becomes meaningful.
If you want the truth, don’t trust banners.
Ask support directly what fees apply to:
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top-ups
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issuing, maintaining, and closing cards
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internal transfers
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currency conversion (fiat and crypto)
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cross-border charges
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withdrawals
Transparent platforms will answer clearly.
For teams with larger monthly budgets, transparent platforms are often willing to offer customized terms and share part of the cost, allowing scale efficiencies to truly take effect. The Adpos team closely monitors the cost structure of high-spend teams and, once spending thresholds are met, provides more tailored conditions to support long-term growth.
Final Thoughts: Cheap Entry Does Not Equal Real Savings
If you choose a virtual card platform only based on low minimum deposit and low headline fees, you may pay for it later through instability, hidden costs, or sudden restrictions.
A platform built to last usually has a bank-aligned operating model, clear risk-control boundaries, transparent fee structure, strong monitoring, responsive support, and the ability to adapt as Meta / Google policies evolve.
The real question is not which platform is cheapest today. The real question is which platform is designed to stay stable tomorrow.
About Adpos
Adpos offers virtual cards for advertising payments. We focus on stable delivery, clear risk limits, transparent fees, and fast support. For teams that want to scale long term, the best platform is not the one that looks cheapest, but the one that is sustainable, clear, and controllable in risk.
If you'd like to better understand Adpos' risk-control boundaries and fee structure, feel free to reach out to our team and we can share a clear breakdown.
Telegram: @Leo_Adpos | @Adpos_Hazel