With the RBI deadline of September 30, 2022 to tokenise debit and credit cards already over, customers are facing issues due to discontinuation of autopay mandates. As the card data on merchant sites has got deleted, using cards on frequently used sites is no longer a cakewalk for the users as well.

To overcome the problem and to ensure that the bills don’t remain unpaid due to cancellation of the autopay mandate, you need to visit the sites of the respective merchants to tokenise your cards.

By tokenising your cards, you may avoid the pain of remembering the due dates of each of your bills and enter all the card data every time you make a payment.

In case you haven’t tokenised your cards yet, here is how to do it.

To understand the process, let’s take the example of tokenising your card on the site of Paytm, which has partnered with all five card networks – Mastercard, RuPay, VISA, American Express and Diners Club.

Here is how to tokenise cards on Paytm:

  1. Open the Paytm app and go to ‘Payment Settings’ in your profile
  2. On select ‘Saved Cards’, a list of of tokenised cards will be seen with a green tick (older app versions) or green text ‘Card Saved’ (newer app versions)
  3. To save a new card, click on ‘Add new card’. Enter card number, expiry, CVV (Card Verification Value) number and click on ‘Proceed’
  4. Enter the OTP (One Time Password) sent on the registered mobile number and click on ‘Proceed’
  5. The card details will be stored by Paytm Token Gateway (TG) with your respective card network

How tokenisation makes card usage safer

With tokenisation, an additional layer of security is added. The card number is saved with the card network or the issuer and in exchange, a token is provided to the merchant/TG. Merchant and TG can store the token, last 4 digits of cards and other details like issuer name, card type. This token is used to initiate the transaction.

Once the token reaches card networks, it is exchanged with the corresponding card number and shared with the card issuer. In this way, the card number is only exposed to secure platforms of card networks and issuers and not to other stakeholders like the merchant, payment aggregator or the bank acquirer.

This token is not bound to any device, thus eliminating the need for merchants, payment aggregators and payment gateways to store sensitive data. The users can manage and even delete the saved card details.

After tokenisation, users don’t need to enter their card details before every online payment. As per RBI’s guidelines, all merchants, fintech and e-commerce platforms have to comply with tokenisation guidelines to prevent fraudulent activities as digital payments continue to accelerate in India. Paytm’s groundbreaking technology-led innovations have provided a robust payments ecosystem and card tokenisation will empower its users, changing the way they shop and pay.