Visa announces secure “token” service for mobile payments alongside Apple launch

Visa’s launch of Visa Token Service neatly coincided with the launch of the iPhone 6, and the new system will also work with Apple’s newly announced Apple Pay system.

Visa Token Service replaces sensitive payment account information found on plastic cards with a digital account number or “token”. Because “tokens” do not carry a consumer’s payment account details, such as the 16-digit account number, they can be safely stored by online merchants or on mobile devices to facilitate ecommerce and mobile payments. The tokens can be linked to specific merchants, mobile devices or types of payments. If a device is lost or stolen, tokens linked to it can be instantly reissued without changing account numbers or reissuing plastic cards.

“When you make the payment environment safer, you open up a world of possibilities where commerce can take place in different forms and consumers can shop anywhere, on any device, with confidence,” said Charlie Scharf, Chief Executive Officer, Visa Inc. “Visa Token Service is yet another example of where we have opened up our network to create meaningful solutions in the form of new standards, tools and services that can enable digital payment experiences that are both engaging and secure.”

Visa Token Service will be available to Visa’s US banks next month, and a phased roll-out overseas will start in 2015.The technology has been designed to support payments with mobile devices using all major mobile platforms.

Source: Businesswire

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