Visa designed their Secure Credential Framework (SCF) to increase merchant, issuer, and acquirer adoption of network tokens - digital identifiers used to supply symbolic placeholder data instead of the Primary Account Number (PAN) in all parts of the payment chain.
In 2025, Visa is updating the SCF to further drive network token acceptance. Checkout.com has already communicated the European elements of these changes, which we’ve included below as a reminder, and recently introduced requirements for acquirers and merchants in the UAE.
Effective from April 18, 2026, Visa will require acquirers and merchants in the UAE to process stored credential transactions with network tokens. This has already been a Mastercard requirement since the beginning of 2025.
To further enforce these requirements, from 17 October 2026 Visa will introduce a PAN Integrity Fee of 0.05%. This will apply to all domestic and cross-border card-not-present (CNP) credential-on-file (COF) transactions processed by merchants in the UAE.
Visa expects issuers in Europe to have procedures in place for out-of-date credentials associated with network tokens. This month they’ll introduce new issuer incentive fees for issuers, helping keep credentials associated with a network token up to date.
Additionally, from April 12, Visa will require acquirers in Europe to ensure merchants can tokenize payment credentials with network tokens. We already offer this capability through our network token solution.
With these measures in place, Visa plans to increase its Acquirer SCF Integrity Fee in Europe effective October 1, 2025. After this date, transactions processed in Europe without a network token or EMV 3D Secure will now incur an increased fee of 0.075%.
Card Payouts and Mail-Order Telephone-Order (MOTO) transactions are exempt from the Acquirer SCF Integrity Fee, except when merchants use MOTO to establish a future standing instruction Merchant Initiated Transaction.
You can find full details of this fee in our pricing and interchange update.
As a network token provider, Checkout.com can request tokens from the card schemes on your behalf.
If you opt for our managed service, we take care of all the data, updates, storage, and optimization for you, so you can worry less about security and compliance and focus more on growing your business. Or you could choose to manage your own solution, which means you’ll have full flexibility and ownership of your tokens.
If you use our Intelligence Acceptance product, you can enjoy all the benefits of network tokens without any additional integration. Intelligent Acceptance adds machine learning and dynamic decisioning to use network tokens where they work the best.
It employs network tokens only if they’re supported by the issuer, and, for each transaction, uses AI and machine learning to decide whether to use network tokens or PAN credentials based on which offers the best performance and cost benefits.
Whether you use network tokens as a standalone solution or via Intelligent Acceptance, our data shows that, on average, you’ll see a 3% increase in acceptance with Visa and Mastercard. Speak to a member of our team to find out more about how to use network tokens to lower costs, reduce fraud and boost acceptance with Checkout.com.
As Manager of Scheme Relationships, Dola plays a pivotal role in bridging the gap between Checkout.com and the major card schemes – Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and JCB. With over a decade of experience managing payment operations at globally recognised fintechs and high-growth consumer brands, she brings deep expertise in optimising payment systems and translating scheme changes into meaningful value for merchants, all through a strong customer-centric lens.
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