Definition

CardOnFile (CoF) refers to a transaction model in which a merchant stores card details with cardholder authorization and reuses those stored credentials in later payments.

In card network terminology, CoF is primarily about the stored credential classification and later reuse of those credentials, not just whether CVV is entered.

In PingPong documentation, bizType=CardOnFile represents a cardholder-initiated CIT CoF path. Its typical effect is:

• The first payment passes bizType=CardOnFile and completes card binding
• When the cardholder later selects a saved card, payment can typically be completed via token without re-entering CVV

In the PingPong platform, if the first payment did not pass bizType=CardOnFile, subsequent payments follow the regular saved-card path and cannot use the CardOnFile token-payment path directly.

What It Is Not

• It is not the same as saving card details: saving a card improves UX by reducing repeated entry
• It is not the same as Tokenization: tokenization is a way to protect stored credentials and sensitive data
• It should not be reduced to whether CVV is skipped: CVV-free checkout is only one product outcome, not the full definition of CoF

Use Cases

CardOnFile is suitable for cardholder-present one-click payment scenarios:

• The cardholder logs in to the merchant platform and selects a saved card to pay
• The cardholder can typically pay without re-entering CVV or the full card number

If the merchant needs to trigger charges while the cardholder is not present, use bizType=Recurring.

Recurring is closer to an MIT charging capability: the merchant decides when to trigger each subsequent charge and manages the authorization relationship, charge schedule, and retry policy.

Cardholder Notice and Consent

Before using CardOnFile or Recurring, the merchant should complete cardholder notice and consent in its own flow, including:

• Authorization to save card details for future use
• An explanation of the scope of later use
• Merchant-side retention of the authorization or opt-in record

Business Value

When the first saved-card transaction passes bizType=CardOnFile, card networks classify subsequent payments as stored credential follow-on transactions and apply dedicated CoF risk models.

For merchants, this means:

• Issuers can make authorization decisions using a previously authorized transaction context instead of treating the payment like a first-time card transaction
• Unnecessary declines caused by missing transaction context can be reduced
• The model is suitable for merchants focused on repeat-purchase conversion

PingPong Split of CoF Scenarios

In card network standards such as Visa and Mastercard, both CIT (cardholder-initiated) and MIT (merchant-initiated) belong to the stored credential / Card-on-File family. PingPong splits them into separate bizType values:

bizType	Transaction type	Cardholder present	Typical scenario
CardOnFile	CIT CoF	Yes	One-click checkout
Recurring	MIT CoF	No	Merchant-initiated charges, auto-renewal, usage-based charging

Note

Even when no CVV is required, subsequent payments may still be challenged or declined because of issuer risk controls, regulatory requirements, or transaction risk.

Previous pageCardNumber（PAN）

Next pageNetworkToken