The virtual card is also set up in such a way that it can only be used to make purchases through Apple Pay. Which makes it, unlike regular (American) credit cards, a 2-factor authentication system: Something you have (phone) and something you are (fingerprint or face).
That's a big part of why I use Apple Pay when it's available; it gives me a fair bit more protection against credit card fraud.
> When you use your phone to pay in stores with an eligible Visa card in Google Pay, we don’t send your actual credit or debit card number with your payment. Instead, a virtual account number is used to represent your account information – so your account details stay safe.
In the case of Hover, I have performed a single authorisation, and it is now capable of performing repeat transactions against my card. There is no interface within Apple Pay (that I can find) to remove that authorisation, I have to ask Hover to do that.
In the case of Uber, I perform an authorisation for an expense before I know what the amount is, and I'm not required to re-authorise when tipping.
The Hover example is the problem. Not specific to Hover, but rather specific to the lack of virtual card management within Apple Pay.
Virtual cards by definition do not have to be single use, (un)fortunately.
What? Apple Pay does this. Oh they don't expose the numbers to you, but they use a virtual card at time of purchase.