Launch
Introducing One-Time Cards: A card number you control
Create a card for one purchase, set a limit, optionally lock it to a merchant, and keep earning rewards on the card you already use.
Sample card, for illustration only
Providing your credit card information directly to a merchant to complete a purchase can come with hesitation on whether you can trust the merchant to securely complete the transaction, and only that transaction. Yet, it’s an ordinary compromise we make daily.
We are often providing our card number to an unknown person on the other side—this may be on a new merchant website or a business over the phone. While many times nothing goes wrong, it still puts you, the consumer, in a vulnerable state as your credit card information now remains usable long after the purchase is over.
This ends now. Today, Allowance is introducing One-Time Cards.
A One-Time Card gives you a new credit card number each time you want to make a purchase. You control the maximum payment amount allowed and the merchant where the card will be used (if known). After the one-time card number is used, the number can never be used for a second purchase, even if the merchant did not charge the maximum allowed amount.
Creating one is easy with Allowance—just open the Allowance app, enter an amount, select a specific or any merchant, and click approve. Allowance will generate the single-use card information that you can copy and paste into your checkout screen or provide over the phone to complete your transaction. And the best part is, you keep earning the same credit card rewards you usually would for that same purchase, but now, it’s without handing out your actual credit card number.
One-Time Cards use the same technology that powers Allowance’s agentic payments, allowing you to request a One-Time Card with the Allowance plugin for ChatGPT, the Allowance connector for Claude, and Allowance MCP.
You no longer have to compromise on the security of your credit card information—this information will always stay with you and you stay in control of your purchases.
A card number should not be a permanent permission.
If you’re new to Allowance, getting started is easy. Simply sign up with your existing credit card information, no need to open a new credit card or use your Social Security Number.