With an aim to increase the security of consumer payments in the digital channel, Visa Inc. is expanding Visa Token Service for credential-on-file (COF) token requestors. Now, the acquirer gateway and technology partners Adyen, AsiaPay, Braintree, Checkout.com, Cherri Tech, CyberSource, Elavon, Ezidebit, eWAY, Fit-Pay, Giesecke & Devrient, PayPal, Payscout, Rambus,SafeCharge, SecureCo, Square, Stripe, Worldpay and YellowPepper will be able to tokenize credential-on-file digital payments on behalf of their merchant and payment clients.
The new solution is built on top of the EMVCo Payment Tokenization Standard, the Visa Token Service offers another layer of security by replacing sensitive cardholder information, such as personal account numbers and expiration dates, with a unique digital identifier (a token) that can be used for payment without exposing a cardholder’s more sensitive account information. In addition to enhancing security, expired or compromised payment credentials can be seamlessly updated in the background by the financial institution, eliminating a significant point of friction for consumers and merchants.
Merchants also get the added security protection of being shielded from data breaches that occur elsewhere in the ecosystem since the Visa card number is replaced with a token unique to the merchant or gateway acquirer partner, said the company.
“Today, we welcome 20 partners into the Visa Token Service who will help scale tokenization to their thousands of merchant clients and millions of customers around the world. This opens up a world of possibilities for our merchants and partners to further evolve and innovate in digital payments,” said Ansar Ansari, senior vice president, digital payment products, Visa. “Making digital transactions even more secure is one of Visa’s biggest priorities. Working with Visa, these partners will help secure cardholder data and make digital payments safer, resulting in frictionless digital commerce experiences for consumers.”
“Adyen is excited to be the first acquirer in the payments ecosystem with in-market solutions to support and offer Visa Token Service to our global merchants,” said Kamran Zaki, president, North America, Adyen. “In addition to improving security, Visa network tokens through Adyen will allow our merchants with cards on file to reduce involuntary churn and improve authorization rates without any additional work on their part.”
“Worldpay is committed to protecting the integrity of every transaction and this solution integrates well with our own security and tokenization products,” says Asif Ramji, chief product officer, Worldpay. “By forming strong relationships with companies like Visa to bring global scale to every merchant, we ensure their ability to deliver positive customer experiences. Importantly, Worldpay merchant partners who take advantage of our implementation of the Visa Token Service do not need to wait for individual certification and approval to begin protecting their customers’ data.”
“The integration of the Visa Token Service within the CyberSource Token Management Service is an important milestone in our quest to enable clients to create new digital commerce experiences and deepen consumer engagement across channels,” said Andre Machicao, senior vice president, CyberSource, a Visa solution. “The powerful integration of these services provides merchants with additional value and simplifies access to future Visa Token Service enhancements, especially in the area of credential lifecycle management. Dynamic updates of credentials when a card is lost, stolen or expired will help our clients improve the consumer experience and lift conversion.”
Since the launch of the Visa Token Service in 2014, Visa has added over 60 global token requestors—including mobile and wearable manufacturers, issuer wallets, online merchants, payment service providers and acquirers—from 40 markets onto the token platform. The addition of 20 merchants, acquirer gateways and token requestors will bring scale globally and support Visa’s commitment to security and convenience of online and mobile payments from both traditional eCommerce as well as credential-on-file transactions.
