Payment vault that tokenizes, routes, and optimizes payments, not a processor of record, bank, or PayFac that underwrites merchants. Get started for free and Get a demo / Talk to sales are both live. Starter pricing is published on /pricing. San Francisco is the HQ city printed on Privacy and Terms.
What it is
Basis Theory is Basis Theory, Inc.’s (footer also writes Basis Theory Inc.) payment vault and tokenization platform, sold to tokenize sensitive payment data, keep it outside the customer’s PCI scope, and route tokens to any PSP or service. Live marketing brand on homepage, Platform, Payment Vault solution, Add-Ons, Why Basis Theory, Pricing, Security, Contact, and footer is Basis Theory. Legal names: BASIS THEORY, INC. / Basis Theory, Inc. on Terms of Service and Master Services Agreement; Basis Theory Inc. on footer copyright. Canonical marketing domain is https://basistheory.com/ (HTTP 200 at research). www.basistheory.com returned HTTP 301 to https://basistheory.com/ at research. Homepage headline: Built to keep customers transacting. Homepage subcopy: More than a token vault, Basis Theory routes, tokenizes, and optimizes your payments to drive the metrics that matter most to your team. Homepage also: Innovative merchants grow with the Basis Theory Payment Vault.
The confirmed public product URL for the Payment Vault surface used for this listing is https://basistheory.com/solution/payment-vault (page headline: The payment vault for data Independence; HTTP 200 at research). Payment Vault page: Support any payment method, scheme, or network domestically and abroad. Store the data in a PCI Level 1 compliant vault. Capabilities named on that page and the related Platform page (https://basistheory.com/platform): Universal Form Elements; Secure Data Vault; Proxy (route sensitive data between systems); Reactors (run server-side logic against tokenized data inside Basis Theory); Token Intents; Network Tokens; Account Updater; 3DS; BIN Details / Enhanced BIN Service; Linque (unlock existing payment methods and identity at checkout). Platform headline: The Payment Vault That Puts You in Control. Platform subcopy: Basis Theory centralizes sensitive payment data, governs access, and routes tokens to any PSP or service, keeping architecture uniform across the card lifecycle.
This page is Basis Theory Payment Vault / tokenization / Elements for merchants and platforms: capture with Elements, store in a PCI vault, enrich at the vault, and route to any PSP. Adjacent products are Basis Theory’s. They are not this page. Agentic commerce packaging (/solution/agentic-commerce), Payment Method Discovery / Linque packaging, Multi-PSP solution packaging, Monetize Payments / VSaaS PayFac-path packaging, Data Consolidation, and industry use-case pages (ecommerce, subscriptions, VSaaS, creator economy, fintech, gaming, digital health) are Basis Theory’s. They are not this page.
Who it’s for
Shapes from Basis Theory’s homepage, Payment Vault, Platform, use-case pages, Why Basis Theory, Contact, and docs:
- Ecommerce and omnichannel merchants, which /use-cases/ecommerce sells as capture and store card data at the point of sale in a PCI-compliant vault, reduce abandoned carts with retry to a backup processor, and unbundle from a single full-service PSP.
- Subscription and recurring-revenue businesses, which /use-cases/subscriptions sells as smart retries, token updates, backup PSP routing, and vaulted tokens for card-not-present renewals without bringing the merchant’s systems into PCI scope.
- Vertical SaaS / VSaaS platforms, which /use-cases/vsaas sells as monetizing payments, letting merchants bring their own PSP, and a path toward becoming a PayFac while the vault holds the card data. Become a PayFac is a customer outcome Basis Theory markets; Basis Theory is not claiming to be that PayFac.
- Creator economy and high-risk adjacent platforms, which /use-cases/creator-economy sells as redundancy when a single PSP shuts a platform off, with backup routing and vaulted credentials.
- Fintechs and other regulated builders, which /use-cases/fintech and Digital Health / Gaming footer use cases sell as customize payment flow, own card data, and connect partners without exposing plaintext cardholder data. Those vertical pages sit next to the core vault job.
Partner intake is dual-path. Marketing CTAs: Get a demo / Request a demo; Talk to sales; Get started for free; Start implementing; Access the portal / Access the Portal on Platform. Contact (https://basistheory.com/contact): Get a demo or speak with our team; See an interactive demo; support@basistheory.com; security@basistheory.com; private Slack or Microsoft Teams channels via Contact Sales. Pricing Starter CTA: Start now. Pricing higher-tier CTA: Talk to an expert / Get in touch. Docs Getting Started (https://developers.basistheory.com/docs/): create a Personal Account in the Basis Theory Portal with work email; create a TEST Tenant; Start Building guides; Go Live checklist across Basis Theory, the customer’s PSP, and card networks. Docs API Reference: TEST tenants use https://api.test.basistheory.com; PRODUCTION tenants use https://api.basistheory.com; Applications issue Public, Private, or Management API keys (BT-API-KEY header). Portal host live at research: https://portal.basistheory.com/. Terms of Service: free version and Paid Services exist; you may not use the Services in production environments with end customers or process end customer data tokens without entering a purchase agreement for Paid Services. MSA: fees follow rates published at basistheory.com/pricing unless a Purchase Agreement says otherwise; online Purchase Agreements are accepted through Basis Theory’s standard online process.
It is a fit for a merchant or software platform that wants a self-serve or sales-assisted PCI vault, will keep the PSP seat with its chosen processors, and does not need Basis Theory to underwrite or settle as the processor of record.
Standout details
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Brand, domain, and product URL (as printed). Official marketing name on live pages: Basis Theory. Legal: Basis Theory, Inc. / BASIS THEORY, INC. / Basis Theory Inc. Canonical site: https://basistheory.com/ (HTTP 200; www 301 to apex at research). Confirmed product URL for this listing: https://basistheory.com/solution/payment-vault. Related live URLs also used here: /, /platform, /platform/network-tokens, /platform/account-updater, /platform/3ds, /platform/bin-look-up, /add-ons, /why-basis-theory, /pricing, /resources/pricing-details, /security, /contact, /partnerships, /use-cases/ecommerce, /use-cases/subscriptions, /use-cases/vsaas, /use-cases/creator-economy, /use-cases/fintech, /solution/multi-psp, /solution/agentic-commerce, /solution/payment-method-discovery, /solution/monetize-payments, /solution/data-consolidation, /resources/privacy-policy, /resources/terms-of-service, /resources/master-services-agreement, /resources/cookie-policy, /resources/subprocessors. Docs: https://developers.basistheory.com/ (docs.basistheory.com 301 there). Portal: https://portal.basistheory.com/. Blog: https://blog.basistheory.com/. /about returned HTTP 404 at research. Footer Cookie Policy short path /cookie-policy returned 404; canonical Cookie Policy lives at /resources/cookie-policy.
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Payment Vault, Elements, Proxy, and Reactors. Payment Vault and Platform: Elements collect sensitive data without exposing it to the application; Proxy routes sensitive data between software systems; Reactors run server-side logic against tokenized data inside Basis Theory so customer servers never handle plaintext; Token Intents validate before committing a long-term token. Homepage code sample imports @basis-theory/web-elements (cardNumber, cardExpirationDate, cardVerificationCode). Docs Concepts cover Tokens, Elements, Proxy, Reactors, Access Controls, and Search. Payment Vault unique-points: Replace processor iFrames with Basis Theory Elements and route to any processor; Own underwriting data via Proxy while keeping systems out of PCI scope; Provision network tokens, account updater, and 3DS as vault-native enrichments; Bring your own processor / support any processor, gateway, or fraud partner.
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Add-ons and enrichments (as printed). Add-Ons and Platform: Network Tokens (network-issued credentials replacing PAN); Account Updater (Batch and Real-Time workflows for expired/reissued cards); BIN Details / Enhanced BIN Service (BIN metadata on a token via one API call); 3DS (agnostic or processor-specific). Why Basis Theory: agnostic enrichments partnered with brands such as Ravelin and Pagos, or bring your own partners. Platform agentic block: Visa Intelligent Commerce, Mastercard AgentPay, and related agentic flows with authentication separated from authorization. Free Migrations copy on Platform: migrate card, banking, PII, and other data on your timeline without migration fees. Those partner and network names are infrastructure Basis Theory routes to or enriches with. They are not this page’s product.
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Ops and pricing (public). Dual CTAs: Get started for free / Start now / Access the portal alongside Get a demo / Talk to sales / Talk to an expert. Docs: self-serve Portal account and TEST Tenant; Go Live checklist before production. Terms: production end-customer token use requires Paid Services / purchase agreement. /pricing (HTTP 200): Start secure. Scale with confidence. Visible Starter plan: Start now; production-ready PCI environment; payload limit of 1MB; 24 hours of logs; PCI AOC; US environment only; PCI Level 1 chip. Higher tier: Get in touch / Talk to an expert; Everything in Starter & Scale plus additional PII/PHI compliance options, responses for 95% of PCI SAQ D (Level 1 & 2), unlimited monthly interactions per token, agentic enrollments, custom logs/payload, uptime guarantees, enterprise support, whitelabel cName, Dedicated IP, SSO/SAML. Footnote: Standard pricing. View full pricing details here (https://basistheory.com/resources/pricing-details, last updated Oct 20, 2025). Pricing-details: bills on tokens stored in the vault; standard platform fee and included vault size are published there; overages billed on token counts above the included vault size; token types counted include credit cards, network tokens, Google Pay and Apple Pay payment tokens, and other vaulted tokens. This listing’s public_pricing YAML is a label only (no dollar amounts). MSA Exhibit A: commercially reasonable 99.90% Service Availability target with stated credit tiers; support via Customer Portal or support@basistheory.com; normal business hours printed as Monday-Friday, 8:00am to 6:00pm Central Time.
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Company facts. Founded year: frontmatter uses 2021 from Basis Theory’s own Introduction post (Aug 10, 2021) and Beta Day One post (Aug 23, 2021) on blog.basistheory.com; those posts describe first public talk and beta availability after building for prior months. Series B announcement blog copy references about 4.5 years of operating history relative to that post; treat as vendor timeline, not a second founding year. Headquarters: San Francisco, CA from Privacy Policy and Terms address block (2261 Market Street, Suite 46012, San Francisco, CA 94114); phone 415-649-9763. No dedicated /about page was live at research (404). Footer copyright: (c) 2026 Basis Theory Inc. Terms last updated Apr 11, 2025; Privacy last updated Oct 9, 2025; MSA last updated Apr 11, 2025. Privacy: EU-U.S. / UK Extension / Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework participant; California law and San Francisco County venue on Terms arbitration.
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Outcome and customer quotes (vendor claims). Use-case ROI blocks (ecommerce, subscriptions, VSaaS, creator, fintech): Increase customer LTV by $75; Successfully process 30% of failed transactions with retry; Reduce customer churn by 50%, with footnote that those assume 100,000 monthly purchases at $30 each in Basis Theory’s ROI model (https://go.basistheory.com/roi). Ecommerce also: Reduce over 90% of your PCI Compliance scope. Treat ROI and scope-reduction lines as Basis Theory marketing / model outputs, not independently audited results. Named quotes on live pages used here: Emilio Munoz Perez, Software Engineering Manager at Felix (homepage); Mit Shah, Co-Founder and COO of Method Financial (Contact); Clara Leigh, Technical Lead at YouPay (Platform); Victor Fimbres, CTO of Forage (ecommerce); Patrick Zhang, Tech Lead at Passes (creator / VSaaS); Ethan Lacey, CEO at Union (subscriptions / fintech); Matt Donofrio, Head of Revenue at Marble (Payment Vault). Why Basis Theory case-study chips: Marble Insurance, Method Financial, Passes, Forage. Attribute as Basis Theory-named stories, not independent verification.
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License and security posture (as printed). Homepage, Security, and footer: PCI Level 1; SOC 2 Type II; ISO 27001; HIPAA Compliant. Security page elaborates independent verification for PCI DSS Level 1 merchants and service providers; external SOC 2 Type II assessment; ISO 27001 certification; HIPAA-compliant environment for PHI. Why Basis Theory: TLS 1.2+; encrypted at rest and in transit with tenant-specific keys; multi-region / multi-zone redundancy copy; Terraform provider for config-as-code. Basis Theory is a vault / tokenization / routing vendor. It is not marketed as the processor of record or bank charter holder. Customer still contracts with PSPs and other Third-Party Services (MSA Section 9).
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Adjacent modules. This page is Basis Theory Payment Vault / tokenization / Elements. Adjacent products are Basis Theory’s. They are not this page. Agentic commerce, Linque / Payment Method Discovery, Multi-PSP solution marketing, Monetize Payments / become-a-PayFac VSaaS packaging, Data Consolidation, and vertical use-case landing pages sit next to the core vault job.
Sources: basistheory.com, Payment Vault, Platform, Add-Ons, Why Basis Theory, Pricing, Pricing details, Security, Contact, Partnerships, Ecommerce, Subscriptions, VSaaS, Creator economy, Fintech, Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Master Services Agreement, Cookie Policy, Introduction (Aug 10, 2021), Beta Day One (Aug 23, 2021), Docs Getting Started, API Reference, Authentication, Access Controls, Elements, Portal.
Honest verdict
Basis Theory is the listing to read when the job is a PCI payment vault for a merchant or software platform: Elements capture, tokenize into a vault you control, enrich with network tokens / account updater / 3DS at the vault, and route to any PSP without locking card data inside one processor. Basis Theory is not a processor of record, not a bank, and not the PayFac that underwrites and settles merchants. The acquiring, underwriting, and settlement seat stays with the customer’s chosen PSPs. Basis Theory supplies the vault, tokenization, Elements, Proxy/Reactors, and routing layer.
What it is not: a processor of record, a bank charter, a lender, or a product that replaces the need to contract with PSPs. Get started for free and Portal TEST Tenants are real; production end-customer token use still needs Paid Services / a purchase agreement per Terms. Starter pricing and token-billing rules are published on /pricing and /resources/pricing-details. Get a demo and Talk to sales remain available for guided paths. ROI tiles on use-case pages are Basis Theory model outputs, not audited results. If you need the vendor itself to be the processor or PayFac of record, stop. If the job is an agnostic PCI vault with multi-PSP routing, start here.