Card-on-File (COF) tokenization offers two key benefits – consumer and ecosystem security and an improved checkout experience.
RBI’s recent COF tokenization guidelines mandate the replacement of the actual card data with an encrypted digital token, which is used to facilitate and authenticate transactions.
This devaluation of sensitive card details reduces the risk and vulnerability of sensitive data, as only tokens are present in transit in the ‘in-rest’ and ‘in-use’ phases.
These new guidelines are expected to enhance consumer confidence in e-commerce payments, ensure a seamless transaction experience as well as allow card issuers to authorize a higher number of transactions.
TR Ramachandran, Group Country Manager, India and South Asia, Visa, said, “RBI’s move to allow COF tokens for ecommerce payments will revolutionize digital payments on India’s ecommerce platforms.”
“Having launched CoF token services in over 130 countries globally, we are confident of the technology’s ability to create a safe, secure and seamless environment for digital payments.”
Ramachandran said the move will be crucial in building consumer confidence on merchant platforms and assuring them about the security of their payment credentials on these platforms.
“We have enabled all of our banking partners to tokenize and continue to work closely with merchants, payment aggregators and gateways to prepare the ecosystem for the COF token rollout,” he said.
RBI consent for card-on-file token by card network for transactions on mobile phones, tablets, laptops/desktops, wearables, IoT devices etc. is aimed at making card-based digital payments more secure and frictionless.