Here’s how to tokenize your credit and debit cards

If you do not select it, the card details will not be saved, and you will have to enter the complete card details whenever you use your card to make transactions on that particular website. Sachin Vasudev, Director and Head of Cards, Paisabazaar.com says, “Although tokenizing your credit cards and debit cards is not mandatory at present, it is recommended as it adds an extra layer of security and keeps your card information safe. Keeps safe online.”

Tokenization means replacing the actual card details with an alternate code known as a “token”. Vasudev said, “Remember, tokens are unique to a combination of cards, merchant platforms and devices. This means you have to generate unique tokens for each merchant. But, as a user, you need to remember these codes. There is no need to hold; they will be stored on the platform. Also, multiple cards can be tokenized on the same merchant website, and a single card can be tokenized on multiple platforms.”

How to tokenize your card?

You will be required to enter credit/debit card details at the time of check out, while making purchases and making payments on the e-commerce merchant website. At that point, you get an option to secure your card and tokenize it by selecting the ‘Secure Your Card’ option.

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

According to a report, Visa has successfully provisioned over 160 million card-on-file tokens in India. The achievement comes from the 100 million token provision that Visa announced earlier this year in June.