Here’s how to tokenise your credit and debit card

If you do not opt for it, card details will not be saved, and you will have to enter complete card details every time you use your card to make a transaction on that particular website. “While it is not mandatory to tokenise your credit cards and debit cards currently, it is recommended as it adds an extra layer of security and protects your card information online,” says Sachin Vasudeva – Director and Head of Cards, Paisabazaar.com

Tokenisation means replacing actual card details with an alternate code known as “token”. Vasudeva said, “Remember, tokens are unique for a combination of card, merchant platform and device. This means you will have to generate unique tokens for every merchant. But, as a user, you need not remember these codes; they will be stored on the platform. Also, multiple cards can be tokenised on the same merchant website, and one card can be tokenised on multiple platforms.”

How to tokenise your card?

While purchasing on the e-commerce merchant website and making payments, you need to enter the credit/debit card details when checking out. At that time, you get an option to secure your card and tokenise it by selecting the ‘secure your card’ option.

The card can be tokenised by doing authentication by using OTP sent to your registered phone or email ID. Once the card gets tokenised, your actual card data gets replaced by a token number. In order to recognise your credit and debit card details, the last four digits of the respective cards will be displayed on the payment screen of the e-commerce merchant website.

According to a report, Visa successfully provisioned more than 160 million card-on-file tokens in India. This achievement comes from the 100 million token provisions that Visa announced in June earlier this year.