What is a Payment Vault?

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐕𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭? 👇

► A Payment Vault (also referred to as a Token Vault) is a secure digital repository that stores sensitive payment credentials, such as Primary Account Numbers (#PANs) and cardholder details. Instead of merchants handling and storing this sensitive information themselves, a vault service provider securely stores it, ensuring compliance with industry regulations such as PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard).

By using a Payment Vault, businesses reduce their exposure to fraud risks and regulatory burdens, allowing them to focus on delivering seamless customer payment experiences.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚 𝐯𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

Instead of directly handling and storing customers' Primary Account Numbers (PANs), businesses can integrate with a Payment Vault to securely store and access tokenized payment credentials.

How it works 👇

1. Payment details captured — The customer's PAN is collected via payment gateway integration or a standalone API endpoint.
2. Tokenization process — The Payment Vault generates a Token (a secure, tokenized version of the PAN) and stores it in the vault, each with a unique ID.
3. Token replaces PAN in transactions — Instead of using the raw PAN, the assigned token is used to process payments, enhancing security.
4. Automated updates for expired cards — The Real-Time Account Updater feature ensures stored credentials remain valid, reducing payment failures.
5. Transaction completes as usual — The remaining payment flow continues through the acquiring bank and card networks.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐕𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬?

✅ Regulatory Compliance — Merchants avoid handling raw payment credentials, reducing their PCI DSS compliance burden.

✅ Fraud Prevention — Storing tokenized data instead of actual PANs limits the risk of sensitive data breaches.

✅ Seamless Customer Experience — Vaulted credentials enable one-click checkouts, subscription payments, and faster transactions.

✅ Improved Payment Performance — Features like the Real-Time Account Updater prevent transaction failures due to expired or lost cards.

✅ Multi-PSP Support — Vaulted credentials can be used across multiple Payment Service Providers (PSPs), giving merchants more flexibility in payment processing.

Check → VGS - Checkout.com and other PSPs + 3rd Party providers for more information (personal opinion*)

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐲 Matteo Gamba

"For merchants, a Payment Vault isn’t just about security—it’s about unlocking new opportunities in payments. With vaulted payment credentials, we can streamline customer journeys, reduce friction at checkout, and build more flexible, resilient payment infrastructures that scale globally."

Source: Checkout.com x Connecting the dots in payments...

► Sign up to 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐬 ☕: https://lnkd.in/g5cDhnjC

► Connecting the dots in payments... and Marcel van Oost