Can network tokens be moved to another acquirer?
Yes, if the platform or merchant holds its own Token Requestor ID: the token then follows it across acquirers that accept tokens. If the acquirer or PSP is the requestor, leaving means re-provisioning stored cards. Decide who holds the requestor ID before the first token is issued; Scheme Ready covers the scheme-side requirements.
In detail
Yes, if the platform or merchant holds its own Token Requestor ID: the token then follows it across acquirers that accept tokens. If the acquirer or PSP is the requestor, leaving means re-provisioning stored cards. Decide who holds the requestor ID before the first token is issued; Scheme Ready covers the scheme-side requirements.
Who is the token requestor?
This is the first decision. If the PSP or acquirer is the token requestor, provisioning is simple but the tokens belong to that integration, and leaving means re-provisioning every stored card. If the platform holds its own Token Requestor ID, its tokens follow it across acquirers, and routing between acquirers becomes possible with the same credential. Migration has to be planned before the first token is issued.
Routing tokens across acquirers
A token can be routed to any acquirer that accepts it, which makes routing rules credential-aware: token first, PAN as fallback, issuer by issuer. Token BIN ranges differ from PAN ranges, so BIN lookups, local-scheme detection and debit-credit classification must handle both.
More detail in our #PayDecoding episode on Network tokens.