What happens when a provider handles PANs only?
During authorization the platform checks whether a usable network token exists for the payment method. When the selected provider supports network tokens, the transaction carries the token and its cryptogram. When it handles PANs only, the platform falls back to the PAN and the transaction continues. Each transaction records which path it took, so the behavior stays visible in reporting.
In detail
The transaction continues on the PAN. Network tokenization never blocks a payment because one provider does not support it.
How the decision is made
During authorization, the platform checks whether a usable network token exists for the payment method. It then looks at the provider selected for that transaction:
- When the provider supports network tokens, the transaction carries the token and its cryptogram.
- When the provider handles PANs only, the platform falls back to the PAN, retrieved from the Vault, and the transaction proceeds.
This matters in a multi-provider setup. Routing may send a transaction to a provider that does not support tokens, for cost, coverage or resilience reasons. The fallback keeps that choice open without forcing your merchants to give up tokenization elsewhere.
Visibility
Each transaction records which path it took, so the behavior stays visible in reporting. Order details and API payloads indicate whether a token was associated, requested and used. In the dashboards, your merchants can compare tokenized and non-tokenized flows by provider.
For integrators
Token fields appear when they apply, and their values follow provider capability. Integrations should therefore treat them as optional and support the PAN path alongside the token path.