Comparison

CardValet vs Card Lock

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

Head to head
About

CardValet

Take full control of your debit and credit cards with instant on/off toggles, spending limits, and location-based restrictions. Receive real-time alerts for all transactions, monitor purchases, and manage your cards digitally from your smartphone.

Highlights
  • Turn cards on/off instantly
  • Set spending limits
  • Restrict usage by location
  • Control merchant categories
  • Receive real-time transaction alerts
  • View purchase history
  • Activate cards and set PIN
Features
Read full description

NOTE: This application is powered by Fiserv, Inc. but is activated through specific financial institutions. Check with your financial institution to ensure they participate in CardValet prior to downloading. CardValet helps you efficiently manage your cards digitally. TAKE CONTROL Stay in control of your card. Turn your card ON/OFF, set spending limits, decide where, when and how your card can be used. - Set card to be on or off in an instant, restricting whether it can be used or not - Restrict your card purchases to specific locations (merchants located within a certain range of your phone or select city, state, country or zip code on an expandable interactive map - Select merchant categories (Restaurant, Travel, Entertainment etc.) and transaction types (Instore, eCommerce, ATM etc.) to control purchases on your card - Enable or disable international transactions - Establish spending limits to allow transactions up to a certain dollar value and decline transactions when amounts exceed the thresholds set by you BE ALERT Receive real time alerts on all purchases, select purchases or when a card transaction is attempted but declined. Customize your alert preferences and get notified as per your choice. Alerts are sent in real time, immediately after a transaction has taken place, and help you quickly detect unauthorized activity on your card. VIEW YOUR CARD PURCHASE View your purchases, add memos and tag your purchases for easy tracking. DO IT YOURSELF Mange your card at your fingertips. Activate your card, set card PIN or report your lost/stolen cards seamlessly by making a call from the App. Key Benefits - Receive alerts to monitor transactions and help protect from fraud Actively manage your money and take charge of your card usage - Remotely control and monitor children’s spending - Helps ensure business spending policy compliance

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

Screenshots

CardValet4 screens
Card Lock3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: CardValet at 4.6 against Card Lock's 2.9. CardValet also leads on ratings volume (19K vs 11). Card Lock's advantage is review sentiment (27% vs 19%) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CardValet holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CardValet has 19K ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 19% of CardValet's written reviews are positive against 27% of Card Lock's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
CardValet versus Card Lock: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCardValetCard Lock
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (19K ratings) — better2.9 (11 ratings)
Positive reviews18.8% of reviews27.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings19K — better11
Update frequencyEvery 4 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size86 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperFiserv, IncFirst Data Corporation

Customer experience

CardValet

All ratings18,753 ratings
Positive89.9%
Neutral3.1%
Negative7.0%
Written reviews133 reviews
Positive18.8%
Neutral12.8%
Negative68.4%

Card Lock

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

Bugs and requests

CardValet

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Unable to reset password
  • Inconsistent account syncing
  • Repeated 'too many devices' errors

Requested features

4 requests
  • Balance and spending overview
  • Fingerprint/biometric login
  • Ability to add multiple cards
  • Improved notification system

Card Lock

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

CardValet

No in-app purchases

None

Card Lock

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CardValet free?
CardValet is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Card Lock free?
Card Lock is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, CardValet or Card Lock?
CardValet is rated higher. CardValet averages 4.6 out of 5 from 19K ratings, while Card Lock averages 2.9 from 11 ratings.
Do CardValet or Card Lock have ads?
Neither CardValet nor Card Lock shows ads.

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