#Multi credit card validator code#
#Multi credit card validator series#

However, for the purpose of this discussion we can simply state that all merchants that process credit cards must be PCI compliant.

#Multi credit card validator series#

PCI is a complex topic and is worthy of a series of dedicated articles. PCI DSS is short for the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. How does PCI compliance factor into the use of credit card tokenization?Īll merchants that process credit card transactions must be PCI DSS compliant. (Obviously this is done programmatically, but that is how it works). Any time in the future, when I till you to bill token #50, I want you bill the credit card number associated with that order'. I want you to take the credit card associated with that order and tokenize it. 'Hey payment processor, a moment ago you processed a $100 sale.Your website can respond back to your credit card processor after the approval: Although this was processed as a regular order we can still tokenize this data.

#Multi credit card validator code#

You get a regular authorization code (approval message) from the processor and send out the customer receipt.

Your credit card service provider will process the transaction as normal.

At this point it's just a regular credit card transaction.

In this example we'll start by billing the customer $100 for their first month of service.

In some cases you may want to tokenize a credit card from an order that was already previously processed.

You've managed to store credit card numbers without actually having the sensitive information on your system! The company that is tokenizing your data (storing your credit card numbers) knows which token numbers refer to which credit cards.Īny time you want to bill that card in the future you can reference the token number. It's just a reference number to that credit card. For clarity, the token number isn't a credit card number. The token is a number that is linked to that specific credit card. Once the credit card is confirmed a token will be created. Regardless of whether it's being tokenized from a regular e-commerce sale, or if it's initiated from a verify request, the ultimate point is to get a response back from the card issuer to determine if the card is valid. Once a card is confirmed to be valid it can be tokenized. Behind the scenes your payment processor will contact the issuing bank to ensure the card is valid, but no charge will be placed to the card.

To do this you would submit a $0 transaction is processed which is often called a 'verify request'. In these cases the customer will type in their credit card number during the sign-up process to create a token that can be billed later. For example, you might be signing up for an online service in which the first month is free.

In other situations you might not want to process a credit card upfront, but want to tokenize a card for other reasons. After the sale is completed you might want to store that card for future use, and this is where credit card tokenization begins. The differences start once the transaction is submitted. At this point it's the exact same as any online / e-commerce sale. You will be asked to type in your credit card information. For a moment, consider a normal online purchase where you go to a website, add things to your cart, and then go to the checkout to pay.

Tokenization often begins it's life as a normal regular credit card transaction. If that isn't quite making sense yet we should take a step back and consider the transaction flow. Those token numbers can be used in place of a credit card number when submitting payments. Instead you'll have a list of token numbers (which isn't sensitive). Your system will have no credit card numbers stored within it. Whenever you want to bill that card you just reference the token associated with that card. To use it you will setup your website so that a 3rd party company will store the sensitive card information for you. Tokens can be stored by your credit card processor, or can be stored by a tokenization service provider such as Spreedly. More specifically, it refers to having a company store the credit card numbers for you, so that you don't have to store the sensitive data yourself.Ī 'token' refers to a credit card number that is being stored somewhere. It's to do with the storage of credit card numbers. The term 'Tokenization' may sound confusing but it's a fairly simple concept.