What is Tokenization?

Token technology takes information and replaces it with a custom token.  With a credit card number, for example, the 16 digit card number is replaced with a custom token. The token mirrors the format of the original data but is non-descriptive. This tokenization allows private information to be communicated between two entities in a secure manner.  Tokenization in regards to GiveGab Enterprise requires the use of a payment gateway, which is where the sensitive data is stored.

When a donor submits a payment, the sensitive data entered into the payment fields is encrypted. It is then sent to a payment gateway so that a token can be generated. The payment process then proceeds as usual. Once all necessary information has been received and the payment has been applied, the token is passed back to the original system.  Only a token and a separate masked credit card number that contains the last four digits of the card are stored in the original system.  The masked credit card number appears as the following where the asterisks represent nothing more than a character placeholder:     ************1111

As you can tell from the description above, a complete 16 digit credit card number is not stored within GiveGab Enterprise’s system.