Comparison

Card Lock vs Visa Purchase Alerts

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Card Lock

Manage your debit and credit cards with real-time controls. Set custom alerts for payments and delivery preferences, and control where and when your card can be used. Instantly lock your card if misplaced to prevent unauthorized transactions.

Highlights
  • Real-time card controls
  • Customizable payment alerts
  • Select alert delivery methods
  • Set spending thresholds
  • Manage card usage locations
  • Instant card locking
Features
Read full description

For participating financial institutions, the Card Lock app gives you the ability to select the alerts you want to receive and control where and when your card can be used. Misplaced your card or left it at a recent store – use the app to turn off the card and ensure that it won’t be used until you find it or pick it up! ● Choose from many popular alert options, such as an email before a payment is due ● Select where you want alerts to be delivered – via text, email, or right in the app ● Set the threshold for alerts that meet your specific needs ● Manage where your card can be used ● Use the app to set or change controls and alerts in real time

About

Visa Purchase Alerts

Receive real-time notifications for transactions on your enrolled Visa card. Monitor spending and detect potential fraud with customizable alerts for online, international, or high-value purchases.

Highlights
  • Real-time transaction notifications
  • Fraud detection alerts
  • Spending monitoring
  • Customizable alert preferences
  • Notifications for online purchases
  • Alerts for international transactions
Read full description

Visa Purchase Alerts allows customers to receive notifications for transactions that are conducted on their enrolled Visa card accounts. This near real-time insight provides customers with the ability to be alerted to potential fraud and monitor their own spending based upon their pre-set preferences. How it Works: • Check to see if your Visa account is eligible. • Register your mobile device² and/or email to receive Visa Purchase Alerts. • Choose the notification triggers (alerts) that match your needs, such as; • Purchases made on the internet or over the phone • When a credit is being processed on my card • International purchases • Reaching a purchase amount threshold • When a purchase is declined If a purchase matches the criteria you’ve set, you’ll be alerted through your preferred communication channel so you can quickly detect unauthorized activity and take action to protect your account. ¹A qualified transaction is any transaction routed through Visa. ²Availability of SMS alerts subject to Visa account issuer discretion. Message and data rates may apply.

Screenshots

Card Lock3 screens
Visa Purchase Alerts3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Visa Purchase Alerts at 3.8 against Card Lock's 2.9. Visa Purchase Alerts also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 27%). Card Lock's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 16.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Visa Purchase Alerts holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 2.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 8 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 27% of Card Lock's written reviews are positive against 50% of Visa Purchase Alerts's.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Card Lock versus Visa Purchase Alerts: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCard LockVisa Purchase Alerts
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.9 (11 ratings)3.8 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews27.3% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings11 — better8
Update frequency—Every 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS8.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB37 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFirst Data CorporationVisa

Customer experience

Card Lock

All ratings11 ratings
Positive36.4%
Neutral9.1%
Negative54.5%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive27.3%
Neutral9.1%
Negative63.6%

Visa Purchase Alerts

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

Card Lock

No in-app purchases

None

Visa Purchase Alerts

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Card Lock free?
Card Lock is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Visa Purchase Alerts free?
Visa Purchase Alerts is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Card Lock or Visa Purchase Alerts?
Visa Purchase Alerts is rated higher. Card Lock averages 2.9 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Visa Purchase Alerts averages 3.8 from 8 ratings.
Do Card Lock or Visa Purchase Alerts have ads?
Neither Card Lock nor Visa Purchase Alerts shows ads.

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