Visa Adds 13 Partners to Its Token Service Provider Program

With demand for tokenized payment transactions anticipated to explode in the coming years with the growth of connected devices through the Internet of Things as well as mobile and online payments, Visa Inc. reported Wednesday that it has signed 13 new companies to participate in its token service provider program.

“A potential tidal wave of new payment accounts is approaching—conservative estimates expect 21 billion Internet-connected devices in just three more years, so having both the partner network and the right technology in place are fundamental to driving payments on those devices,” Jim McCarthy, executive vice president of innovation and strategic partnerships at Visa, said in a news release. “We are proud to welcome so many great new partners to the token service provider program, to help us extend tokenization to new devices and form factors and give consumers more payment experiences that they love.”

Through tokenization, payment card data are replaced with digital strings useless to fraudsters. With tokenization still in its early stages, networks such as Visa and Mastercard Inc. currently are the leading providers of tokenization services used by card issuers, processors, and other entities. Visa said its TSP program gives technology companies a standards-based approach and access to Visa’s tools and services, including the Visa Token Service, as well as integration, development and marketing support. The program also helps expand the market for tokenization to other companies as they develop new digital-payment services, and promotes the consistency envisioned by standards body EMVCo, Visa said.

Three of Visa’s new tech partners—FitPay, Infosys, Rambus—operate globally, while the other 10 operate in regions outside of North America. They join Visa’s initial TSP partners announced last October: Giesecke+Devrient (G+D), Gemalto and Inside Secure.

Since then, G+D, FitPay, Infosys, Inside Secure, and Pri-Num Ltd., a London-based mobile-payment technology provider, have been qualified under the Visa Ready program and have begun integrations of Visa technology with their own partners, according to Visa. Visa Ready is a program the network uses to ensure that third-party applications and payment services meet Visa’s security standards and specifications.

Visa’s announcement did not mention details of the agreements between the new TSP partners and Visa, or how Visa will generate revenues through them. A spokesperson was unavailable early Wednesday.