Business Wire

Visa Token Service Issues Its 1 Billionth Token

23.6.2020 07:00:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release

Share

Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) today announced that the company has now issued more than 1 billion tokens worldwide through Visa Token Service (VTS), marking a major milestone in its proprietary offering to help accelerate eCommerce innovation and make payments more secure. Visa Token Service replaces a cardholder’s 16-digit Visa account number with a secure token that protects the underlying card number from fraudsters.

The rapid adoption of Visa’s tokenization technology comes as the world’s massive shift to digital has changed the way we live, work and buy, with 90% of shoppers hesitant to shop in stores and 45% claiming online shopping is now a necessity1. With digital buyers expected to hit 2.1 billion worldwide by 20212, Visa’s tokenization technology as well as its click to pay experience play a vital role in strengthening digital payment security globally, which is more critical now than ever before.

With more merchants and retailers adopting tokenization technology, VTS is scaling and accelerating its credential-on-file (COF) tokenization efforts. Today, there are over 13,000 merchants transacting with Visa COF tokens3. There are also over 8,200 issuers enabled on Visa Token Service from 150 markets.

“The world’s massive shift to digital underscores the need for easy and secure digital commerce, which is why we’ve seen such an increase in the number of tokens issued by Visa Token Service,” said Ansar Ansari, senior vice president, digital payment products, Visa. “In the last 12 months alone, Visa has issued more than 680 Million tokens, and we’re excited to be expanding our capabilities even further so we can secure even more types of digital transactions – even those without a 16-digit Visa credential.”

The Next Billion Tokens – Visa Takes Tokenization From the Card to Cloud

Looking ahead, Visa is launching new and evolved solutions to minimize operational risks around data protection for merchants and mobile carriers, reducing unnecessary steps and friction for consumers. These advancements enable Visa to implement the latest industry-leading security measures that can be applied at both the network and financial institution level.

  • Token ID Expands Tokenization Capabilities Beyond the Card: Visa is unveiling the rebrand of its recently acquired Rambus Payments token services business, to Token ID – A Visa Solution. Token ID expands Visa’s tokenization capabilities beyond card-based payments on the Visa network to those on domestic card networks, account-based and real-time payments. When working in collaboration with Visa Token Service, Token ID will help clients scale fraud-reduction, secure payment solutions achieved by tokenization technology, while helping Visa expand its tokenization services to new markets with specific localization requirements such as Turkey and China.
  • Token Management Service by CyberSource: Token Management Service by CyberSource centralizes and simplifies token management to secure customer payment data, improve payment conversions and eases PCI compliance implications. It links tokens across service providers, all payment types and channels for merchants, acquirers and technology platforms. It creates one unified token identifier – a token-of-tokens – to centralize and orchestrate management of all payment instruments, including cards, bank accounts and local payment schemes. The unified token identifier generated by CyberSource protects sensitive customer payment data and provides a 360-degree view of the customer across payment channels, merchant rewards, and loyalty programs.
  • Cloud Tokens: As consumers expand their use of devices for online shopping, Visa has enabled a new, cloud-based system that allows more flexibility than binding tokens to a single device. The Visa Cloud Token Framework enables eCommerce and card-on-file tokens provisioned to the consumers’ account to be bound to multiple trusted devices. Cloud Tokens are available globally but launched first in LAC. Specifically, Brazilian consumers are the first in the world to use the new Visa Cloud Token technology to help enable secure payments on WhatsApp.

The 1 billion tokens milestone is another key moment in this drive to innovate, and comes on the heels of Visa naming 28 new partners to VTS as COF token requestors, set to make digital transactions more secure by tokenizing both one-time and recurring payments made with Visa credentials.

For more information about Visa Token Service, visit here.


1 Retail Systems Research Consumer Report: March 2020
2 Statista, Number of digital buyers worldwide from 2014 to 2021
3 VisaNet merchant data based on tokenized transactions processed between Jan. 2019 and June 2020

To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

Contact information

Visa Inc.
Tierney Deggelman, 650-418-0352
tdeggelm@visa.com

About Business Wire

For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

Hitachi Joins Anthropic’s Critical Infrastructure Defense Program9.10.2026 03:32:00 EEST | Press release

Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501, "Hitachi"), today announced that it has joined Anthropic, PBC’s (“Anthropic”) “Critical Infrastructure Defense Program,” launched on October 8, 2026, as a founding partner. The program is aimed at strengthening cyber defense for critical infrastructure, including control systems supporting power, water, manufacturing, and transportation services. Infrastructure systems that underpin society and the economy cannot tolerate prolonged downtime, making it difficult to implement certain security measures, such as system shutdowns for patch deployment. At the same time, advances in AI are significantly shortening the time between vulnerability disclosure and exploitation, creating an urgent need to redesign systems based on the assumption that cyberattacks will occur. The program seeks to strengthen cybersecurity through rapid vulnerability detection and remediation by integrating Anthropic’s advanced AI models, Claude, into the products and services of trusted syste

Lapmaster Wolters and Precision Surfacing Solutions Secures Strategic Minority Investment from The Cynosure Group and Fernweh Group to Accelerate Growth8.10.2026 23:49:00 EEST | Press release

Lapmaster Wolters and Precision Surfacing Solutions (“Lapmaster Wolters”), a leading global supplier of high-precision machine systems and consumables to the semiconductor, advanced materials, precision optics, and advanced packaging industries, today announced the completion of a minority equity investment by affiliates of The Cynosure Group (“Cynosure”) and Fernweh Group (“Fernweh”). The investment strengthens the balance sheet and adds long-term, engaged partners to support the company’s next phase of growth. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261008141876/en/ Positioned for growth Demand for ultra-high-precision surface finishing continues to grow as customers in semiconductors, advanced materials, and precision optics push toward tighter tolerances and higher throughput. These tailwinds are further reinforced by sustained investment in semiconductor and advanced-packaging capacity, the expansion of AI and hi

Dubai Launches Global Create AI Agents Championship with Prize Pool Exceeding AED 2.5 Million8.10.2026 20:05:00 EEST | Press release

Dubai has launched the Create AI Agents Championship, a global competition inviting innovators to develop practical and scalable AI-agent solutions that address real-world challenges, with a total prize pool exceeding AED 2.5 million. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261008883373/en/ Dubai has launched the Create AI Agents Championship as part of its efforts to accelerate the adoption and development of Agentic AI (Photo: AETOSWire) The launch of the championship was announced by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, who encouraged innovators from around the world to participate. Led by Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, the championship aims to accelerate the adoption of Agentic AI and support the development of innovative AI-agent solutions with strong potential for

Seiden Law LLP issues statement: Prosecuted by Press Conference: Declared Guilty Without a Charge, Yim Leak Family Asks UN Human Rights Experts to Hold Thailand to Its Own Treaty Commitments8.10.2026 19:26:00 EEST | Press release

Seiden Law LLP, chief global counsel to Cambodian businessman Yim Leak, announced today that Jared Genser, international counsel to Mr. Yim and his wife, has asked two UN Special Rapporteurs to send an urgent appeal to the Thai government. The request is made on behalf of the couple and their seven-year-old son. It says Thailand violated its international human rights commitments by announcing the family’s guilt before any court had tried them, and by freezing their assets, including their minor son’s savings, without a hearing. Six Official Statements in Nine Months. No Charge Filed in Any Court. Between December 2025 and September 2026, Thai officials described Mr. Yim as the center of a criminal network on six occasions: at two press conferences chaired by the head of the Thai government, in the House of Representatives, and in three government press releases. The head of the Thai government said the network had been “found to have committed” offenses. Asked about the suspects’ lawy

Sam Altman-Backed Meanwhile Raises $37.5M as Families Across Asia, Europe and the Middle East Turn to Bitcoin Life Insurance8.10.2026 19:12:00 EEST | Press release

Meanwhile, the first life insurer licensed to operate entirely in Bitcoin, today announced $37.5 million in new funding from its existing investors. Bain Capital Crypto led the round, alongside Haun Ventures, Framework Ventures, Pantera Capital, Apollo, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, and Morgan Creek Digital. Meanwhile, whose backers also include Sam Altman, has now raised more than $180 million. The round follows a surge in international demand for Meanwhile’s Bitcoin life insurance policies, particularly in Asia, Europe and the Middle East amid broader macro instability. In early 2026, Meanwhile launched BTC Life 1-Pay, a single-premium whole life policy built for high-net-worth clients outside the United States. It is the company's second product line after BTC 10-Pay, which is purposely designed for US taxpayers. As the company eyes further international growth, Meanwhile has signed 15 brokers serving wealthy families since launch, including in the insurance hubs of Singapore

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye