SAN FRANCISCO -- Visa today announced a significant milestone achieved by its tokenization technology, revealing that Visa tokens have generated more than $40 billion[1] in incremental ecommerce revenue for businesses globally and saved $650 million[2] in fraud in the last year. Visa also announced it has issued more than 10 billion tokens since the technology’s launch in 2014.

Over the last 10 years, Visa has further enhanced security across the payment ecosystem through tokenization - a technology that replaces sensitive personal data with a cryptographic key that conceals sensitive payment data. Tokenization can be embedded into any device, making digital payments more secure while being virtually useless to scammers.

Currently, 29% of all transactions processed by Visa use tokens[3], reflecting their widespread adoption and the trust consumers place in this secure payment method.

Tokenization technology has also caused a six-basis point increase in payment approval rates globally. Overall, tokenization can reduce the rate of fraud by up to 60%, providing businesses with more successful transactions and offering much-needed peace of mind to consumers and merchants of all sizes[4].

“Today’s milestone represents the impact that tokenization has had on the entire payments ecosystem since we introduced the technology 10 years ago,” said Jack Forestell, Chief Product Officer at Visa. “Tokens have changed the game - securing online payments and paving the way for more innovations - from tapping to pay on a phone to enabling a future where we have more control over our data in the age of AI.”

Visa, which announced the milestone live onstage at Money20/20 in Amsterdam today, issued its billionth token in 2020. Due in part to the shift to digital during the pandemic, the adoption of tokens accelerated significantly in the last four years. Today, over 8,000 issuers are enabled for tokenization, with over 200 markets empowered with the technology globally. In the last 12 months, over 1.5 million eCommerce merchants transacted with Visa Tokens every day.

The future of tokens: Transforming the consumer experience

A recent Visa survey revealed that less than one third of consumers globally feel in control of their data[5], and only slightly more than one third fully understand how their data is used. However, tokenization can unlock a whole new era of personalization and security—one where consumers control their data and approve when and where it can be shared for a more personalized experience.

In the not-too-distant future, Visa data tokens could help merchants and commerce platforms use your data in a way that is both transparent and gives you control—meaning you decide who gets access to your data (and when they no longer do) as well as how your data will be used. Powered by AI, Visa data tokens let consumers view, consent to and revoke data sharing access, right from their banking app.

“Over the last 10 years, Visa has invested in scaling its token infrastructure to power safer and more convenient digital commerce for consumers and merchants here in Europe, and in nearly every market across the world,” said Mehret Habteab, Senior Vice President of Product and Solutions at Visa Europe, who announced the news today in Amsterdam. “As AI begins to create more personalized experiences online, we’re using our token expertise to give people more control over their payments data.”