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When a cardholder adds a card to a digital wallet, the card’s sensitive data — the PAN, expiration date, and CVV — is replaced by a token. The token references the card without exposing it, and is what the wallet presents when the cardholder pays. Wallet enablement is worth pursuing. Tokenized cards transact more often than cards left in a drawer, contactless checkout is faster, and the token survives a card being reissued, so spend continues uninterrupted.
Digital wallet provisioning can only be exercised in production. Tokens cannot be created in sandbox.

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How Tokenization Works

Three parties weigh in on whether a card can be added, and none of them is Synctera. The wallet provider assesses the device and the account behind it. The card network applies its own rules. The issuer processor then makes the decision, weighing both recommendations against its own checks. The result is one of three paths:
The wallet provider’s recommendation is not always advisory. Where Apple recommends a decline, that decline stands regardless of the other signals.

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Provisioning Methods

Three methods are supported, enabled per card product through provisioning controls. The first two need no integration work on your side; in-app push does.
The cardholder opens their wallet app and adds the card by typing or scanning its details.Available by default. Nothing to build — though the cardholder needs the card details, so pair it with the Reveal Card widget for virtual cards.
Covers two distinct cases.Device-to-device propagation. A cardholder who has already added a card to their iPhone adds it to their Apple Watch or iPad. The wallet provider provisions a separate token for the new device from details it already holds. Because the wallet mediates it, a yellow-path challenge can still be presented.Merchant tokenization. A cardholder saves their card with a merchant, and the merchant tokenizes it through the network — outside any consumer wallet. The token is pushed to Synctera by the network.
For merchant card-on-file tokens there is no wallet interface in which to present a challenge, so yellow-path step-up is not possible. The network treats the merchant’s own login as the authentication. For these tokens the practical fraud control moves to the transaction itself — see Card Issuer 3DS.
Also called push provisioning or instant issuance. The cardholder taps an Add to Wallet button inside your app and the card is pushed to the wallet without them typing anything.This is the method worth building. It removes the step where cardholders mistype a PAN, and it converts far better than asking someone to find their card details.Requires integration with both the wallet provider and Synctera. See In-App Push Provisioning.

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Program Setup

Wallet enablement is mostly an approvals exercise, and it runs on the wallet providers’ timelines rather than yours. Start early.
1

Get your BIN tokenized

Synctera works with your sponsor bank and the network to enable tokenization on your BIN. Nothing can be provisioned until this is done.
2

Submit card art

Wallet card art is a separate asset from your physical card design and must be approved by the network, the wallet providers, and your sponsor bank. Each provider has its own specification for logos, colors, and dimensions.
3

Supply program metadata

Wallet providers display your program’s name, support contact details, and terms and conditions inside the wallet. Cardholders tapping “call issuer” reach whatever number you supply here.
4

Choose your step-up methods

Decide how cardholders will verify themselves on the yellow path. At least two methods must be enabled. See Step-Up Verification.
5

For in-app push: gain entitlements

Apply to Apple and Google for push provisioning entitlements, integrate their SDKs, and pass their UX reviews. This is the longest pole — both providers review the actual experience in your app.Google is moving from its legacy push provisioning API to Unified Push Provisioning (UPP) and has announced it will deprecate the legacy API by the end of 2026. Build new Android integrations on UPP. UPP also needs a Google business profile for the card issuer, set up in Google’s Issuer Console and linked to your processor’s profile. This is done by the issuer of record for your program, not by Synctera. Follow Google’s onboarding guidance, and talk to your sponsor bank and your Implementation & Onboarding manager about who holds it. See Google Wallet.
6

Complete testing

Because tokens cannot be created in sandbox, testing happens in production against allow-listed cards. Your Implementation & Onboarding manager coordinates this.
Synctera’s Implementation & Onboarding team guides you through all of this, including the provider applications.

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Next Steps

In-App Push Provisioning

Add an “Add to Wallet” button to your app.

Token Lifecycle Management

Inspect, suspend, and terminate tokens.

Provisioning Decisions

Why a card is challenged or refused, and what to do.