Card network tokenisation is the British spelling and longer form of network tokenization, which covers how network tokens are created, used and kept up to date. This page explains the term and why the word "card" is often added.
In card network tokenisation, the primary account number printed on a card is replaced by a different number, the token, issued by the card network or on its behalf. The token is tied to a particular merchant, device or wallet, so a stolen token is of little use elsewhere. Each payment with a token also carries a one-time cryptogram that proves it was generated by the authorised party. The networks act as a token service provider, and merchants, wallets or processors that ask for tokens are known as token requestors.
The word "card" is added to separate this from other kinds of tokenisation. A payment gateway may issue its own "vault" tokens that only work with that gateway, and in crypto "tokenisation" means turning assets into blockchain tokens, described under tokenization. Network tokens are portable across acquirers and are updated automatically when a card is replaced, which is why merchants link them to higher approval rates. The individual credential is described under card network token.