Tokenisation

Tokenisation means the payment provider stores the card and gives you a token that works only for your account. The customer can pay again with a thumbprint and you never hold a card number, which is what keeps the compliance burden small. It is what makes saved cards, one-tap reorders and subscriptions both possible and safe: a stolen token cannot be used anywhere else.

In practice

Tokenisation means the payment provider stores the card and gives you a token that only works for your account. The customer can pay again with a thumbprint, and you never hold a card number, which is what keeps the compliance burden small.

It is what makes a saved card, a one-tap reorder and a subscription possible. It is also what makes them safe: a stolen token cannot be used anywhere else.

The thing to check is who the token belongs to. If it is held by a platform you might leave, saved cards do not necessarily come with you, and asking every regular to re-enter a card is a real cost of switching.

Also called: saved cards, card on file.

Questions people ask about tokenisation

Is storing a token the same as storing a card?

No, and that is the point. The token is a reference that only works for payments to your own account through your own provider, so it is useless to anybody who copies it. The card number itself stays with the provider, which is what keeps you inside the shortest PCI bracket.

Do saved cards move with me if I change platform?

Only if the token belongs to you rather than to the platform. If it is held by a vendor you might leave, saved cards do not necessarily come with you, and asking every regular to re-enter a card is a real and often unpriced cost of switching.

What can a token actually do?

Repeat payments, one-tap reorders, subscriptions and a card held against a no-show. Anything that needs the customer to pay again without typing a card number is a token underneath, which is why it is worth asking who owns it before the list of regulars gets long.