Patent ID: 8666823

Claim:
A method for securing data conveyed over a communications network between a point-of-sale system that receives track data from payment cards and a payment gateway that performs payment card authorization operations, comprising: with processing circuitry at the point-of-sale system, obtaining track data from a payment card; with the processing circuitry at the point-of-sale system, removing selected primary account number digits from a primary account number in the track data; with the processing circuitry at the point-of sale system, forming compressed primary account number data by compressing the removed primary account number digits; and with the processing circuitry at the point-of sale system, inserting the compressed primary account number data into a discretionary field of the track data creating a modified discretionary field; with the processing circuitry, following insertion of the compressed primary account number data into the discretionary field creating the modified discretionary field, encrypting the modified discretionary field; with the processing circuitry, determining how many of the selected primary account number digits were removed from the primary account number in the track data; and with the processing circuitry, inserting information into the primary account number digits in the track data that represents how many of the selected primary account number digits were removed.