In this article
Note: Before you try using this functionality, check if it is available from your card provider.
Card-on-file is when customers store a token for their card with a store, restaurant, hotel, or other merchants, so that future payments can be made without the customer having to present the card again.
When adding a "card to file", a token is retrieved from the card provider and stored centrally in a Token storage within LS Central. This token can only be used for the purpose that it was created for, meaning that a token created for purchases cannot be used for creating recurring payments.
Note: Before creating a token in LS Central, a member needs to have been created and selected in the POS.
Token storage
The tokens are stored in a central Token storage, and before you start using this functionality you must configure the Token storage.
- Go to the Token Storage Setup page.
- Set the Token Nos. and Token Authorization number series.
It is not necessary to set the Token Expiry Date Formula, because the card provider usually maintains the lifecycle of the tokens.
When a Card-on-file token is created, information about the token is also stored. This information includes the purpose of the token, the token type, and more. The token's relation within LS Central is also stored, for example in the Hotel vertical a token is connected to a reservation, while in the POS functionality a token is connected to a member account.
Usage in POS
Two operations are needed to use the Card-on-file functionality: Add Card to File and Card On File.
Add Card To File
This operation sends a request to the card provider through LS Pay to request a new token. When the token is created, its type and usage needs to be decided and by default the POS sends information to create a purchase token that can be used to pay for ad-hoc items.
These tokens cannot be used, for example, for recurring payments, late fees, or any other type of payments. If you need to create different types of tokens, you do that through customization using events that have already been added to the POS functionality.
Card on File
If the member has more than one token in the Token storage, the POS displays a lookup list where the cashier must select which tokens to use. One of the tokens is always the default token and is displayed as the default token in this list.
The payment will go through as a normal card payment, with the same information stored in the payment lines and the same kind of receipts created and printed as if a normal card payment had been used.
Events
There are already events that the POS have implemented during the Card-on-file functionality where the information about the token itself can be changed or looked at.
When LS Central version 25.0 was released, this list of events was correct:
- OnBeforeGetTokenValuesForCreateToken
- OnBeforeCheckingMemberCardNoInValidateCardOnFile
- OnBeforeValidateCardOnFile
- OnBeforeCreatingTokenInSendPaymentTokenToStorageV2
- OnBeforeSendingPaymentTokenToStorage
- OnAfterSendingPaymentTokenToStorage
- OnBeforeGetPaymentTokenFromStorage
- OnAfterGetPaymentTokenFromStorage
- OnBeforeSelectTokenToUseForPayment
- OnAfterSelectTokenToUseForPayment
- OnAfterAddCardToFileExecuted
- OnAfterCardOnFilePressed
- OnAfterCardOnFileExecuted
Note: In any and all customizations any communications with the Token storage should be done through web services as all tokens should be saved centrally.
View the list of available web services in LS Central, and find the web services with the word "token" in its name to view the token functionality that is already available.