Hosted Credit Card Tokenization Tool Secures Guest Info at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino

More than 25,000 guests visit Fantasy Springs Resort Casino each month, where they are met with luxurious accommodations, the finest cuisine, the most exciting entertainment, and a world class casino. Now, they also enjoy something most do not even realize is provided: the utmost security for their personal credit card information, thanks to Fantasy Springs Resort Casino's recent installation of Merchant Link's TransactionVault for Lodging, which is a comprehensive, hosted credit card data tokenization and security product and service, available to users of any POS/PMS system that handles credit card data.

According to Don Lindsey, Fantasy Springs Resort Casino's director of information technology, the property, like any hotel, needed to retain guest credit card information for a much longer duration than merchants in the retail or restaurant sectors. At the same time, he said, the resort faced the always-challenging requirements, issued by credit card associations, to achieve and maintain Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS) compliance.

"Our management was becoming concerned about reports of the increasing incidence of credit card data breaches occurring in the hospitality sector," says Lindsey. "We wanted to do the utmost to secure the personal data of our valued guests, and therefore turned to Merchant Link and TransactionVault for Lodging for help and support."

In September 2009, Fantasy Springs Resort Casino installed TransactionVault for Lodging. The system replaces guest credit card numbers are replaced with unique "tokens," which can be used for all transactions, folios, customer analytics, and marketing. Unlike other tokenization products, TransactionVault for Lodging assigns unique tokens for each credit card, as opposed to each transaction. Guests' actual credit card information is removed and safeguarded at one of Merchant Link's secure data centers.

"The installation and operation of TransactionVault for Lodging has been transparent to Fantasy Springs guests and staff, and has had no impact on transaction speed or accuracy," adds Lindsey. "In fact, it has also lowered Fantasy Springs' cost and reduced its effort of achieving and maintaining PCI compliance. Best of all, we have the peace of mind that we're doing the utmost to protect the personal financial data of our guests -- and therefore our corporate reputation."