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Optimize card payments with network tokenization

The Primary Account Numbers (PANs) embossed on cards are from a different time. Discover how network tokenization takes card payments into the online economy.

4 September, 2024
 ·  3 minutes

In the 1950s, shopping happened in person, in cash, every time. The credit card was invented so people could pay without carrying a wad of cash. As paying in plastic gained ground, card schemes needed a way to connect cards to the people using them at scale.

Thus the PAN was invented. From the mid-1960s, the slightly raised embossed numbers on payment cards became the perfect way to keep track of card payments.

Technology has come a long way since then. We now drive electric cars, have flat-screen TVs in almost every household, and conduct a large part of our lives online. Yet the PAN remained the main identifier for online and in-person card payments, leading to a rampant trade of credit card information and fraud.

Luckily, there’s a way to protect customers from online payments fraud. Network tokens are used by digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay, and by major card schemes to create effortless and secure online payments experiences.

Read on to learn about network tokens and why they help you protect your customers and your business.

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