Visa has concluded plans to protect sensitive data for individuals, saying its technology helped save no fewer than $650 million that could have been lost to fraud last year.

According to a statement, the technology, Visa tokens, generated more than $40 billion in incremental e-commerce revenue for businesses globally.

The statement added that Visa would continue to enhance security across the payment ecosystem through the technology, known as tokenization.

The statement reads: “Visa, a world leader in digital payments, recently announced a significant milestone achieved by its tokenization technology, revealing that Visa tokens have generated more than $40 billion in incremental ecommerce revenue for businesses globally and saved $650 million in fraud in the last year. Visa also announced it has issued more than 10 billion tokens since the technology’s launch in 2014.

Over the last 10 years, Visa has further enhanced security across the payment ecosystem through tokenization – a technology that replaces sensitive personal data with a cryptographic key that conceals sensitive payment data. Tokenization can be embedded into any device, making digital payments more secure while being virtually useless to scammers.

Currently, 29% of all transactions processed by Visa use tokens, reflecting their widespread adoption and the trust consumers place in this secure payment method.

Tokenization technology has also caused a six-basis point increase in payment approval rates globally. Overall, tokenization can reduce the rate of fraud by up to 60%, providing businesses with more successful transactions and offering much-needed peace of mind to consumers and merchants of all sizes.

Visa, which announced the milestone live onstage at Money20/20 in Amsterdam recently, issued its billionth token in 2020. Due in part to the shift to digital during the pandemic, the adoption of tokens accelerated significantly in the last four years. Today, over 8,000 issuers are enabled for tokenization, with over 200 markets empowered with the technology globally. In the last 12 months, over 1.5 million eCommerce merchants transacted with Visa Tokens every day.

A recent Visa survey revealed that less than one third of consumers globally feel in control of their data, and only slightly more than one third fully understand how their data is used. However, Tokenization can unlock a whole new era of personalization and security—one where consumers control their data and approve when and where it can be shared for a more personalized experience.

In the not-too-distant future, Visa data tokens could help merchants and commerce platforms use your data in a way that is both transparent and gives you control—meaning you decide who gets access to your data (and when they no longer do) as well as how your data will be used. Powered by AI, Visa data tokens let consumers view, consent to and revoke data sharing access, right from their banking app.”