A stored credential is a cardholder's payment information, such as a card number and expiry date or a payment token, that a merchant or its payment provider keeps on file so that it can be used for future payments. Payments that use it are covered in the main entry on stored credential transactions. In everyday language the same idea is called a card on file.
Card network rules give the term a specific meaning. Before storing a credential, the merchant must obtain the cardholder's consent and tell them how it will be used, for example for one-click checkout, subscriptions or automatic top-ups. The first payment, or a zero-value verification, is flagged as the initial stored credential transaction, and later uses are flagged as subsequent transactions, either started by the cardholder or initiated by the merchant.
A stored credential does not include the card security code, which must never be kept after authorisation. Many merchants now store network tokens rather than card numbers, which reduces breach risk and keeps the credential valid when a card is reissued.