American Express Card On File Tokenization Overview

Card-on-File Tokenization
With Card-on-File Tokenization, a Card Member’s primary account number (PAN)—

typically stored within a Merchant or Processor ecosystem—is replaced with payment
tokens, which are submitted through the payment process. Assigning a token to replace
a card number ensures payment information stays safe since this information would be
meaningless to anyone who might encounter it—like hackers, fraudsters, etc.
This Service differentiates itself from other tokenization use cases (digital wallets,
wearables), focusing on online and e-commerce stored credential transactions.
Card-on-File Tokenization Benefits

American Express Card-on-File Tokenization utilizes American Express
Tokenization Service, registered by EMVCo and industry recognized, aiming to:
Provide a secure environment Offer a frictionless experience Help lower the

for customers to make seamless by eliminating the need to store risk of fraud
online and mobile payments real card account numbers
October 2019 ©2019–2020 American Express. All rights reserved. Page 1 of 3

American Express Card-on-File Tokenization Flow
The authorization process is the same as other transactions. A Merchant simply requests a token
with which to exchange the Card Member’s payment credentials. The Merchant then displays the
original card product detail—the last four digits of the PAN—rather than the token information.
PROVISIONING
Card Member Token Requester requests Network sends the Provisioning

sets up account tokens to replace PAN Request to the Issuer*
Merchant Network generates Issuer makes

stores token the token and provisioning decision
sends to Merchant
* American Express also offers On-Behalf-Of Provisioning decision to Issuers
PAYMENT
A payment is initiated Token is sent to Network Token is replaced with PAN and
using stored credentials to increase security sent to Issuer for authorization
Merchant provides PAN is re-tokenized Issuer makes decision and

authorization response sends PAN to Network
to Card Member

Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is American Express Card-on-File Tokenization?
A: American Express Card-on-File Tokenization is one of many tokenization use cases where payment
tokens are used in lieu of Card-on-File storage and in instances of card-not-present, e-commerce
transaction processing.
Q: Who can use American Express Card-on-File Tokenization?

A: American Express Card-on-File Tokenization can be leveraged by Acquirers, Merchants, and their
processing partners.
Q: Why should Acquirers, Merchants, and their processing partners use American Express
Card-on-File Tokenization?
A: Storing tokens rather than PANs helps prevent fraud resulting from massive data breaches. It also
reduces PCI DSS scope and the risk of handling Card data.
Q: How do I know if I need American Express Card-on-File Tokenization?

A: Merchants and Acquirers who store and transact with PAN-on-File data should integrate tokenization
to take advantage of its numerous benefits.
Q: Where is American Express Card-on-File Tokenization available?

A: American Express Card-on-File Tokenization is available in multiple countries globally. Please contact
your American Express representative to confirm availability in your region.
Q: How do I get started?

A: • Issuing partners must adhere to the American Express Digital Capabilities Enablement policy and
can connect with their representative to get started.
• Merchants should connect with their representative to determine which American Express Card-on-
File Tokenization models apply.
• Partners looking to directly link to their APIs can go to the American Express Developer Portal and
sign up for the Tokenization Service.
• Acquiring and Tech Providers wanting to aggregate tokens can go to the AMEX Enabled site
(www.amexenabled.com) to register.
Q: What are other things I need to consider?
A: Since token mapping is not publicly accessible, Merchants and Acquiring partners who run back-end
offices for customer servicing, loyalties, debt recovery, etc., may need to link token activities and
transactions to an underlying PAN. The American Express Payment Account Reference (PAR)
provides the data element that enables partners to address such operations. For more info, connect
with your American Express Representative.
It is strongly recommended that all Global Network Partners comply with the American Express
Merchant Initiated Transaction Policy and the data elements required to submit and process such
transactions.
For more information, please visit

www.amexglobalnetwork.com/tokenization

American Express Card On File Tokenization Overview

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Card-on-File Tokenization

With Card-on-File Tokenization, a Card Member’s primary account number (PAN)—

Card-on-File Tokenization Benefits

Provide a secure environment Offer a frictionless experience Help lower the

October 2019 ©2019–2020 American Express. All rights reserved. Page 1 of 3

Card Member Token Requester requests Network sends the Provisioning

Merchant Network generates Issuer makes

* American Express also offers On-Behalf-Of Provisioning decision to Issuers

Merchant provides PAN is re-tokenized Issuer makes decision and

October 2019 ©2019–2020 American Express. All rights reserved. Page 2 of 3

Q: Who can use American Express Card-on-File Tokenization?

Q: How do I know if I need American Express Card-on-File Tokenization?

Q: Where is American Express Card-on-File Tokenization available?

Q: How do I get started?

For more information, please visit

October 2019 ©2019–2020 American Express. All rights reserved. Page 3 of 3

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