Warning to FNB virtual card users

Several FNB customers have reported not receiving notifications for transactions on their virtual cards between 31 May and 4 June 2025.

MyBroadband first noticed feedback about people not receiving in-app or emailed “InContact” notifications for virtual card transactions last week.

“Is anyone noticing something weird with InContact messages? I’m getting them for transfers, EFTs, eWallet, the works,” one customer posted.

“But it’s missed some of my debit orders, and I’ve had none for any virtual card taps or spend online since around the 31st of last month [May 2025].”

The user explained they had FNB support reset their inContact information, but the problem remained. “Checked it via the website too, and it’s all set up properly,” they said.

They added that although only their virtual credit card transactions were impacted, they had not tried any physical cards or virtual debit cards.

Four more forum members reported having the same issue, and several MyBroadband staff members subsequently checked their FNB app and confirmed they had the same issue.

One staff member exclusively transacts with a virtual card for in-person and online payments. They performed nine virtual card transactions with a combined value over R6,000 with an InContact alert.

All the payments were reflected in their transaction history on the mobile app and Internet banking but they had to open these platforms to see the payments.

It was unclear whether all the affected users were using a particular digital wallet, the MyBroadband staff member had his virtual card linked to Google Wallet.

The lack of notifications is concerning, as it could result in a customer losing a lot or all of their money if their card details had been compromised without their knowledge.

Fortunately, it seemed the problem was resolved late in the week, as InContact notifications had returned for several of the impacted users from 5 June 2025.

FNB credit card COO Gareth Rimmington acknowledged there was a disruption in sending notifications for virtual card transactions from 31 May 2025.

“The issue affected all virtual card users who were transacting at the time that this issue was persisting,” Rimmington said.

“The matter has since been resolved and we have put measures in place to keep customers informed of any service disruption in the future.”

Rimmington said the bank resolved the issue on 4 June 2025, the same day customers first alerted FNB of the problem.

Importance of transaction notifications

The lack of InContact notifications previously resulted in an FNB customer being unable to act promptly to stop fraud on his bank account.

Frontend software engineer Herman Stander explained that he had lost an entire month’s salary after falling victim to a phishing attack.

Fraudsters appropriated Stander’s virtual card information through a fake link to pay customs on an SA Post Office package. He was coincidentally expecting a parcel.

Stander also mistakenly shared the one-time PIN for linking the card with Google Wallet, remembering too late that he wouldn’t have needed an OTP to approve the payment.

The attackers successfully performed 12 transactions for under R5,000, wiping out almost his entire bank account.

While the virtual card has a rotating CVV for online transactions, this does not work for in-person payments, as it would result in transaction failures.

While Stander acknowledged that he was in the wrong for sharing his card details with a fraudster, he received no InContact notifications for the payments.

If those notifications had been served to him, he may have been able to take action and block his card to limit his losses.