Card-on-file (COF) Definition.

Card stored by a merchant or its PSP for future payments: one-click checkout, subscriptions, top-ups. COF transactions fall under the schemes’ CIT / MIT framework, which requires an authenticated initial payment and then the chaining of transaction references. Best practice is to store a token (ideally a network token) rather than the PAN.

See also

→ CIT / MIT→ Tokenization→ Account Updater

Where this term appears

GuideRuPay, cards, and tokenization in IndiaGuideTokenization and card authentication around the worldGuideTransaction data and approval ratesGuideManaging tokenized cardsCourseOrchestrating payments across multiple PSPsCourseReducing your decline rateCourse3DS2, SCA, and payment success ratesCourseTokenization and recurring paymentsCourseOptimizing your payment success rate, level 2CourseGDPR and payment data

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