{"article":{"id":16121468601751,"url":"https://plaid.zendesk.com/api/v2/help_center/en-us/articles/16121468601751.json","html_url":"https://support.plaid.com/hc/en-us/articles/16121468601751-What-is-a-tokenized-account-number-TAN","author_id":5390778350871,"comments_disabled":true,"draft":false,"promoted":false,"position":2,"vote_sum":0,"vote_count":0,"section_id":16121126347159,"created_at":"2023-07-18T20:07:16Z","updated_at":"2026-06-01T01:59:39Z","name":"What is a tokenized account number (TAN)?","title":"What is a tokenized account number (TAN)?","source_locale":"en-us","locale":"en-us","outdated":false,"outdated_locales":[],"edited_at":"2026-06-01T01:59:39Z","user_segment_id":null,"permission_group_id":1121774,"content_tag_ids":[],"label_names":[],"body":"<p>A tokenized account number is a secure way to handle sensitive banking information. Instead of using the actual account number, a unique token is generated and used in its place. This token represents the account number without exposing the actual account details, adding an extra layer of security.</p>\n<p>In the Plaid API, US Bank, PNC, and Chase will return \"tokenized\" routing and account numbers. These are not the user's actual account and routing numbers, but can be used for ACH transfers. The digits returned in the mask field will continue to reflect the actual account number, rather than the tokenized account number.</p>\n<p>For this reason, when displaying account numbers to the user to help them identify their account in your UI, always use the <a href=\"https://plaid.com/docs/api/products/auth/#auth-get-response-accounts-mask\"><code style=\"border:none;background:#f1f3f5;padding:1px 4px;border-radius:3px;font-size:0.9em;\">mask</code></a> field returned in the Auth response rather than truncating the account number.</p>\n<p>For more information, see <a href=\"https://plaid.com/docs/auth/#tokenized-account-numbers\">Tokenized Account Numbers</a> in the Plaid docs.</p>","user_segment_ids":[]}}