Glossary
Network token
A network token is a substitute for the card number issued by the card scheme, Visa or Mastercard, through their token services: it is bound to one merchant, platform or wallet, carries a cryptogram at payment time and is updated by the scheme when the card is reissued or expires. Apple Pay and Google Pay run on network tokens; merchants and platforms can request them for stored cards. Issuers approve tokenised payments more often, and a token survives the card's expiry, which keeps subscriptions alive.
Network token and vault token
A vault token is the platform’s own reference to a card number kept in its vault; it works with any acquirer the platform connects and stays under the business’s control. A network token is the scheme’s; it needs a token requestor registration, is bound to its domain and travels in the authorisation instead of the card number. Platforms keep both: the vault token for routing freedom, the network token for approval and lifecycle.
What it changes
Approval rates rise a few points for tokenised payments; expired and reissued cards keep working without asking the payer; the card number is never stored by the merchant; and the schemes charge token fees and set the rules for requestors.
On the platform
Tranzify’s vault stores cards under its own tokens and keeps the acquirers’ tokens for the same card next to them, so a stored card can be charged through the terminal the routing picks; whether a payment travels on a network token is the acquirer’s or the wallet’s matter and stays on their side.
Updated: 2026-11-08