MIAMI - April 16, 2020 – Visa (NYSE:V) announced today it is helping merchants in 41 countries and territories across Latin America and the Caribbean enhance security, combat fraud and eliminate friction in the payment process with tokenization technology. Visa Token Service is now offering a new Basic Token service on behalf of issuers that will provide tokens directly to merchants across the region regardless of issuer tokenization status or participation, thus bringing the tokenized transaction cycle full circle.
“Visa understands that for digital commerce to flourish in Latin America and the Caribbean, consumers need total confidence in the security behind their transactions,” said Ralph Koker, vice president, digital solutions, Visa Latin America and the Caribbean. “Merchants can now reassure consumers - through this added layer of security across 41 countries and territories in the region using Visa Basic Tokenization - that their credentials are handled even more safely, helping grow consumer trust in the region when buying online.”
Visa launched Visa Token Service in 2014, an innovative security technology that replaces 16-digit Visa account numbers with a “token” that only Visa can unlock, protecting personal account information and data. “Tokens” do not carry a consumer’s payment account details and can be safely stored by online merchants or on mobile devices to facilitate more seamless ecommerce and mobile payments.
How it works: the same Token benefitsVisa
Basic Tokenization allows merchants who become certified Token Requestors to protect sensitive consumer information and data – such as primary account numbers (PAN) - by replacing it with a token only Visa can unlock. Issuers do not have to actively participate in the request, as Visa will provide tokens directly to merchants on behalf of issuers. All issuers not currently live with Visa Token Service will be automatically enrolled for Visa Basic Tokenization in the participating countries, including issuers with ongoing projects. In addition, now all issuers can opt to control the life cycle management of the token to improve authorization rates with Visa Online Tools.
Benefits for the entire ecosystem
The tokenization of ecommerce transactions and the removal of PAN data in transactions brings ecosystem-wide benefits helping to improve security, combat fraud, reduce friction in the digital payment process and improve transaction authorization rates.
Visa is providing this option for merchants to enable the optimal security of tokenization for all their e-commerce and card-on-file transactions. Merchants can now become a token requestor or work with their payment gateway or acquirer for “on-behalf” tokenization. This allows merchants to have access to request updates that replace account numbers for tokens and add an additional security layer, since each merchant will have an exclusive Token Requestor ID associated to them.
At the same time, Visa Basic Tokenization gives issuers time to update their systems to process token transactions and allows them to try first-hand the many benefits of tokenization. Visa consumers benefit from this seamless back-office protection as the tokens are unique to each merchant, so any potential data breach would not impact a customer’s transactions with other merchants or devices.
There are 41 countries and territories that will be enrolled in Visa Basic Tokenization, including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uruguay and U.S. Virgin Islands.
Since the launch of the Visa Token Service six years ago, Visa has added more than 130 global token requestors—including mobile and wearable manufactures, issuer wallets, online merchants, payment service providers and acquirers—from 107 markets onto the token platform. In Latin America and the Caribbean, current certified Visa Token Service Providers include Adyen, Bell ID, Braspag, CyberSource, Thales and YellowPepper.
About Visa Inc.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit usa.visa.com/about-visa, visa.com/blog and @VisaNews. For news about Latin America, visit @VisaNewsLatam.