Cashfree Token Vault

Cashfree Token Vault is a cloud service for merchants that want saved-card payments without retaining full card numbers on their own systems. It is most suitable for businesses already using Cashfree checkout or willing to build against its API, while teams demanding a provider-independent token reference should assess the migration implications carefully.

Overview

Token Vault substitutes cryptographically generated tokens for sensitive card details. Merchants can use those tokens to process returning customers' card payments while keeping card numbers off merchant platforms, a practical way to reduce the card-data burden in an RBI-focused compliance model.

Cashfree describes one integration that can work across multiple payment gateways or card networks. That interoperability is useful for merchants with more than one payment route, although the Cashfree-created token reference remains tied to Cashfree. A merchant can fetch the card-network token for another payment aggregator, but cannot take the Cashfree reference itself to a new provider.

Key features

• Broad card coverage: Credit, debit, prepaid and corporate cards are supported. Visa and Mastercard credit and debit tokenization are specifically described, giving consumer and business-facing merchants a substantial core range.
• Saved-card checkout: Customers select a stored card and enter its CVV at payment. Cashfree says its ecosystem contains more than 16 million saved cards, though that ecosystem-wide figure does not indicate how many a particular merchant's customers can use.
• Consent and authentication controls: Explicit customer consent is required before provisioning, and provisioning stops when two-factor authentication fails. This protects authorization but adds a firm dependency on a completed customer verification step.
• Restricted merchant data: Merchants may retain only the last four digits, card scheme and issuing bank name. BIN, expiry date and CVV cannot be stored, limiting the information available for internal payment records while keeping full card data out of merchant systems.
• Token security: A merchant cannot recover the underlying card number from a token; only the card scheme and issuing bank can retrieve it. The design sharply limits the impact of a token exposure compared with a leaked primary account number.
• Network tokenization and webhooks: Network tokenization is supported, with webhook support for event-driven integrations. Token Vault is vendor-hosted in the cloud and has no detokenization API, so it is not intended for merchants that need to turn tokens back into card numbers through their own service.
• Checkout paths: Standard Checkout enables saved-card tokenization automatically. Merchants on Seamless Pro must integrate or update their APIs, making the product more demanding for teams using that checkout model.
• Integrations and assurance: Cashfree lists Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce, PayPal, WordPress and Zoho integrations. Its company security information cites ISO/IEC 27001:2022, PCI-DSS v4.0.1 and SOC 2, while support includes a Support Center, customer query resolution, a bank-downtime detector and a Discord community.
• Migration constraint: RBI rules described by Cashfree do not permit bulk tokenization of cards already saved by PCI/DSS-compliant merchants; those saved cards must be deleted. Merchants planning a migration therefore need a customer re-provisioning strategy rather than a bulk conversion.

Pricing

Cashfree uses paid, custom pricing for Token Vault. No public plan price or free trial is provided, so prospective customers must request a quote and confirm usage terms directly. The absence of a free tier makes it less suitable for small teams seeking to validate tokenization at no cost, while established merchants can negotiate pricing around their payment volume and integration scope.

Platforms

Token Vault is delivered through Android, iOS, web and API access. Its cloud deployment and API option fit online businesses and mobile applications, while the automatic Standard Checkout path reduces implementation work for merchants already using Cashfree's hosted checkout.

Who it's for

Choose Token Vault if your business needs recurring or saved-card payments, wants card numbers kept off its infrastructure, and already operates within Cashfree's checkout or payment ecosystem. It also fits merchants serving mixed consumer and corporate card use and those that value a single integration across payment routes.

Look elsewhere if you require a fully portable vault reference, a detokenization API, or bulk migration of cards stored with another PCI/DSS-compliant provider. Seamless Pro users should budget for API work, and smaller merchants should weigh custom pricing before committing.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Reduces card-data exposure: Full card numbers stay outside merchant platforms, with strict limits on retained fields.
• Strong authorization gates: Consent and successful two-factor authentication are required for provisioning.
• Useful card and route coverage: Multiple card types, network tokenization and gateway/network interoperability support varied payment setups.
• Low-friction Standard Checkout setup: Saved cards are enabled automatically for that checkout option.

Cons

• Cashfree-bound reference: The token reference cannot be transferred, even though a network token can be fetched for another aggregator.
• No detokenization API: Merchants cannot retrieve card numbers for workflows that require controlled detokenization.
• Seamless Pro implementation work: API integration or updates are required instead of automatic enablement.
• Custom pricing only: There is no published price or free trial for initial evaluation.

Alternatives

American Express Token Service is a paid service with a free plan and no trial, available across Android, API, iOS and web; choose it when American Express network coverage and a no-cost plan matter.

Hyperswitch Card Vault offers a free, self-hosted community edition with 90-plus payment integrations; pick it when you want to manage compliance yourself and avoid vendor hosting.

DeloPay is a paid service with a free trial and transaction-based Power pricing; consider it when a trial and volume-tier billing are priorities.

Basis Theory provides a $995-per-month standard platform plan including 20,000 tokens; it suits organizations prepared for a substantial fixed platform fee.

FIS Data Integrity Manager is a paid, web-based alternative.

Very Good Security has a free plan and paid packages starting at $1,000 per month; choose it when a broader vault package and published entry pricing fit your budget.

Worldpay eProtect is a paid alternative available on Android, API, iOS and web.

Mastercard Decision Intelligence is a paid web service with custom pricing; consider it when Mastercard's platform is the preferred route.

Verdict

Cashfree Token Vault is a strong choice for Cashfree merchants that need saved-card payments while keeping full card data out of their systems. Its principal advantage is the combination of restricted data retention, consent controls and broad card coverage; its principal drawback is the Cashfree-bound token reference, compounded by custom pricing and extra API work for Seamless Pro. Choose it when Cashfree is already central to your payments, and look elsewhere when portability or self-hosted control is non-negotiable.