What are network tokens?

Card networks (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and Discover) offer their own tokens, which can be utilized in processing transactions instead of a PAN.
Network tokens are maintained by the networks so they always stay current, even if the underlying card data changes.
For example, if a customer loses their card or if the card expires, the network updates the token directly, ensuring it continues to work without the customer needing to update their payment information. This helps reduce customer friction in the checkout flow and avoids stale payment credentials in recurring charges.

Why use network tokens?

Lifecycle management

Ensures tokens remain updated indefinitely

Enhances security

Tokens are merchant-specific & cryptogram

Personalized experience

Using card art

Increases authorization rates

Appoximately 3% reported by Visa

Lower interchange fees

Processor flexibility

Network Tokens	PCI Tokens
Based on EMVCo Payment Tokenization Specification	Not based on an industry standard for format (e.g. can be created in different ways)
Generated by the card schemes - Mastercard, Visa, American Express, Discover	Generated by a payment gateway, PSP, or agnostic token provider
Can be passed through the payment ecosystem before being detokenized by the card schemes	Must be detokenized by the gateway, PSP, or agnostic token provider before being passed into the payment ecosystem