Visa generated $40 billion in incremental e-commerce revenue

Visa announced at Money20/20 Europe, a significant milestone achieved with tokenization technology, revealing that Visa tokens have generated over $40 billion(1) USD in additional e-commerce revenue for businesses around the world and saved $650 million(2) USD in fraud last year. Visa also announced that it has issued over 10 billion Visa tokens since introducing the technology in 2014.

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

Currently, over 40% of all transactions processed by Visa in Europe use tokens(3), reflecting their widespread use and the trust consumers have in this secure payment method.

Tokenization technology also resulted in a six basis point increase in payment approval rates around the world. Overall, tokenization can reduce fraud rates by up to 60%, providing businesses with more efficient transactions and providing much-needed peace of mind to consumers and merchants of all sizes(4).

“Today’s milestone reflects the impact 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 contactless payments via phone to enabling a future where we have more control over our data in the age of artificial intelligence.”

Visa, which announced the milestone live today on the Money20/20 stage in Amsterdam, issued its billionth token in 2020. Due in part to the shift to digital technology during the pandemic, token adoption has accelerated significantly over the past four years. Currently, over 8,000 issuers have the ability to tokenize, and over 200 markets around the world are equipped with this technology. Over the last 12 months, over 1.5 million eCommerce merchants have been transacting with Visa tokens every day.

The future of tokens: changing consumer experiences

A recent Visa study found that less than one-third of global consumers feel in control of their data(5) and only just over one-third fully understand how their data is used. But tokenization could open up a whole new era of personalization and security – one where consumers control their data and approve when and where it can be shared to deliver more personalized experiences.

In the near future, Visa data tokens could help merchants and marketplaces use data in a way that is both transparent and gives individuals control – meaning they decide who gets access to their data (and when they don’t), and how their data will be used. Visa’s AI-powered data tokens enable consumers to view, consent and revoke access to data sharing directly from the banking app.

Mehret Habteab, Senior Vice President, Products and Solutions at Visa Europe, comments: “Over the past 10 years, Visa has invested in scaling its token infrastructure to deliver more secure and convenient digital commerce for consumers and merchants in Europe and in almost every market around the world. As artificial intelligence begins to create more personalized online experiences, we are leveraging our token expertise to give people more control over their payment data.”

(1) VisaNet CY2023 Global Credit and Debit Card Not Present (CNP) Payment Volume for Tokenized and Non-Tokenized Credentials

(2) Risk Datamart CY2023, Visa Global card not present (CNP) payment volume processed for tokenized and non-tokenized credentials.

(3) Visanet, Visa processed transactions as of April 2024

(4) Visanet, Visa processed transactions as of April 2024