Tokenization is a data security technique that replaces a sensitive value — such as a credit card number — with a randomly generated, non-sensitive substitute called a token. The token has no exploitable value on its own. It cannot be reversed to reveal the original card number without access to the secure token vault maintained by the tokenization provider. This is fundamentally different from encryption, where the original data can be recovered with the correct key. A token is not mathematically derived from the card number; it is simply a reference that maps back to the original value in a tightly controlled, isolated system.
In payment processing, tokenization serves two critical purposes. First, it protects cardholder data. If an attacker breaches a system that only holds tokens, they gain nothing usable — the tokens are meaningless outside the tokenization provider’s vault. Second, it dramatically reduces PCI scope. Because the platform’s servers, databases, and logs never contain actual card numbers — only tokens — those systems fall outside the boundary of PCI DSS requirements. This translates directly into lower compliance costs, simpler audits, and a smaller attack surface.
Tokenization also enables practical functionality that would otherwise require storing sensitive data. A platform can support saved cards, recurring billing, one-click checkout, and refunds by storing tokens instead of card numbers. When a returning customer checks out, the platform sends the token to the payment provider, which looks up the original card data in its vault and processes the transaction. The customer experience is seamless, but the platform never handles raw card data.
Shuttle Global tokenizes card data at the earliest possible point in the transaction flow. In Embedded Payments, card details entered in Shuttle’s hosted payment fields are tokenized before any data reaches the platform’s backend. In Voice Checkout, DTMF tones are captured and tokenized within Shuttle’s PCI Level 1 environment, so the card number never passes through the contact centre’s telephony infrastructure. Payment Links operate on the same principle — data is captured and tokenized on Shuttle’s hosted checkout page. Because Shuttle connects to over 40 PSPs, these tokens can then be routed to whichever processor the platform uses, with Shuttle handling the secure de-tokenization and PSP-specific formatting behind the scenes. The result is that platforms get full payment functionality with none of the card data liability.