Do network tokens remove the need to migrate card data?

They make it easier. Network tokens are issued by the card schemes rather than by a processor, so they are not tied to one provider, and they are updated automatically when a card is renewed or replaced. Cards stored as network tokens move between providers more easily and fail less often on recurring charges. The checklist still applies to everything else.

What a network token is

A network token is issued by Visa or Mastercard for a specific card and a specific merchant or token requestor. It replaces the card number in authorizations and is updated automatically by the scheme when the card is renewed, replaced or reissued. Unlike a processor token, it does not depend on one provider's vault.

What it changes for migrations

• Cards stored as network tokens can be used through any acquirer that supports network tokens for the same token requestor.
• Recurring charges fail less often, since expiry and reissue are handled by the scheme.
• The dependency on the outgoing processor shrinks to the cards that were never tokenized at network level.

What still needs the checklist

Cards stored before network tokenization was enabled, cards from issuers that do not support it, wallet tokens, mandates for bank payments, and the contractual and compliance steps of any migration. Network tokens make the hardest part easier; they do not remove the project. Operators that enable network tokenization today, with a universal token on the platform to map everything, are the ones for whom the next migration is a routing change.