American Express Token Service (AETS) is Amex’s network tokenization program for digital commerce. It plays the same architectural role as Visa VTS and Mastercard MDES: replace sensitive PAN data with a network-managed token, bind it to a token requestor, and supply authorization artifacts that issuers recognize. Amex cardholders are a smaller share of volume for many merchants, but omitting AETS leaves a coverage gap in mixed-scheme estates.
AETS tokens use American Express Verification Value (AEVV) cryptograms on authorization, with ECI and program rules specific to Amex’s network. Multi-scheme merchants need all three scheme services, or a deliberate PAN fallback strategy where tokenization is unavailable, so authorization behavior stays consistent across card brands.
Enrollment and certification paths differ from Visa and Mastercard; teams often deprioritize Amex tokenization because PSP tooling is thinner. That creates split-brain estates: Visa and Mastercard traffic tokenized, Amex still on PAN or processor tokens, with different decline patterns and update mechanics per scheme.
Veliro treats AETS as a first-class scheme alongside VTS and MDES. One integration surface provisions the right network token based on card BIN, returns a single tok_* identifier in your database, and fetches scheme-specific cryptograms at charge time. Covering all three major networks under your TRID is how you avoid re-building card-on-file when you add or change acquirers.