PARTNER NEWS: Token requestors play a key role in the delivery of mobile payment services like Apple Pay, Doug Yeager, CEO of SimplyTapp, explains in a blog post — and taking the time to get a detailed understanding of what that role involves could pay dividends in the future.

The term “token requestor” actually covers two separate roles that until now have been performed by one entity, Yeager explains. These tier one and tier two roles are quite different to each other, however, and “the selection of the roles dictates the end result of the service and, in that, how locked in or not locked in you are to one provider”.

The key question card issuers need to address, Yeager says, is whether their tier 1 token requestor offers independent configuration of the token service provider (TSP) master service.

“If the answer is no, then you are locked in for the long haul, most likely,” he says. “If the answer is yes, then you will have more flexibility to some day run your own or change to a different TSP and/or negotiate better rates.”

Yeager’s blog post can be read here.