How a token requestor ID works
A token requestor is the party that asks for a card number to be replaced by a payment token: a phone wallet, a merchant keeping cards on file, or a payment provider acting for merchants. The requestor registers with the token service provider, which assigns the ID, and identifies itself with that ID in each request.
EMVCo, which writes the tokenisation specification, gives each token service provider a three-digit TSP code, and that code is included in the token requestor ID. The ID therefore shows which provider issued a token as well as who asked for it.
One ID per token service, and often per merchant
IDs are issued by each token service, so a company that tokenises Visa and Mastercard cards holds at least one from each. The Visa Core Rules of 18 April 2026 list token requestor identification numbers among the numeric identifiers Visa assigns.
Mastercard's documentation for payment providers says that an on-behalf-of token requestor obtains a TRID for each merchant it supports, with a single TRID for a consumer-facing entity even where it has several websites or locations. A sub-merchant under a payment facilitator does not get its own.
Why the token requestor ID matters to a gateway
The ID tells the issuer who is asking, and it is the handle by which a token service sets up, limits and reports on a requestor. A token is issued to one requestor, so a merchant that changes payment provider has its tokens migrated or issued again.
Where a token requestor ID shows up in a platform
Modules that do the work
- CheckoutA hosted checkout for cards, wallets, bank payments and crypto, routed to the best provider.
- Card acquiringCard acceptance on the phone, in store and online, through the acquirer you choose.
- Card issuingVirtual and physical cards, wallets and controls, on the issuer processor you choose.
Platforms that need it
Guides that go deeper
Where it is written
The laws and standards this page's facts come from.
- EMVCo, Token Service Provider Registration Programme
- EMVCo, EMV Payment Tokenisation: A Guide to Use Cases, v2.2.1, January 2023
- Mastercard Developers, Token Requestor Identifier (TRID) API
- Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules, 18 April 2026: glossary, Token Requestor and Numeric ID (Visa)
General information, not legal advice: what applies to you depends on your services and your market.