Keep card details out of sight with tokenized payments

VISA TOKEN SERVICE (VTS) Keep card details out of sight with tokenized payments

Tokenization is the foundational technology behind the future of our e-commerce payments. Visa Token Service replaces sensitive card details with more secure network tokens – strengthening security, boosting approvals, and building trust across transactions.
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about Keep card details out of sight with tokenized payments

E-commerce is thriving, but online payments still lag behind in-person experiences

Online spend is up 13.8% year-on-year,¹ with more than 450 million people actively shopping online across Europe.² Despite this growth, the online payment experience still falls short:

  • Up to 6% lower authorization rates for card-not-present (CNP) transactions³

  • Up to 8% higher fraud rates online vs. in-person⁴

  • Over 20% of CNP transactions still rely on manual card entry, slowing conversion and frustrating users⁵

Introducing Visa e-commerce experience

Visa e-commerce experience (Vee) is our strategic vision for the future of digital commerce – closing the gap between online and in-person payments.
 
Tokens are the foundation of this strategy – helping to reduce fraud, improve consistency and boost performance across every channel. More than half of European payments are already tokenized, but our goal is to reach 100%.⁶

What is a Visa Network Token?

A Visa Network Token replaces a card’s sensitive Primary Account Number (PAN) with a unique digital identifier – a token.

This token can’t be used outside its intended purpose and only works with the specific merchant or device it’s linked to. When a consumer saves their payment credential online:

 

  • The PAN is flipped into a token.
  • The token is stored, not the PAN.
  • The token is presented during payment.
  • Visa validates the token's usage context (e.g., merchant, device).
  • A cryptogram is generated, verifying its validity.

This process desensitises PANs and dramatically reduces the risk of compromise. Even if intercepted, tokens are useless to fraudsters.

 

Tokenization can deliver benefits across the whole ecosystem

Merchants

  • Better checkout experiences
  • Higher conversion rates
  • Lower operational costs
  • More satisfied customers

Acquirers

  • Stronger fraud protection
  • Lower operational burden
  • Better transaction security

Issuers

  • Higher authorization rates
  • Reduced card replacement needs
  • Richer data and insight
  • Greater consumer trust
  • Increased top-of-wallet retention

Consumers

  • Faster, smoother payments
  • Fewer declines
  • Greater confidence and security

Tokens are already delivering proven results

Visa Token Service (VTS) is the foundation of all things tokens at Visa and it’s already driving real impact in authorization and fraud rates.

  • Up to 5% increase in authorization rates⁷

  • Up to 50% reduction in fraud⁷

And it’s only getting better

As part of Vee, we’re evolving VTS to unlock even more value from tokenization — improving data sharing, strengthening authorization decisions, reducing fraud, and expanding usage across new payment use cases. The result? Higher approvals and a more consistent, secure payment experience.

One platform to manage every token: Visa Token Management Service (TMS)

Most online businesses already use payment tokenization to protect customers’ sensitive card data. But managing tokens from multiple networks and channels can be complex. TMS gives acquirers and merchants more control. It lets you manage, monitor and optimise Visa Network Tokens across every channel and partner – all from one central place.

Get tokenized today

Standardise and simplify tokenization across channels, providers, and payment types today.

If you’re a merchant, please speak to your acquirer to find out if they can enable tokens for your business.
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about Get tokenized today
1. European e-commerce revenue, Statista, October 2024
2. Evolution in Europe: Market Trends and Consumer Behavior 2023-2027. Evalueserve.
3. VisaNet data CNP auth data compared to CP transactions Jan 24 to Dec 24 (Europe)
4. Visa CNP fraud data compared to CP transactions Sep 23 to Aug 24 (Europe)
5. VisaNet Data: CNP Percent of Manual Card Entry in Europe by authorization count in CY 2024
6. Visa Europe Acquired CNP transactions in October – December 2024
7. Tokens vs PAN. VisaNet Data up to December 2024.