TokenEx vs. Spreedly vs. VGS – The Ultimate Comparison

According to Risk Based Security’s 2021 report, there were 1,767 publicly reported data breaches within the first six months of this year. These breaches exposed 18.8 billion records, which have a significant impact on these organizations’ brand reputation and success. As more online businesses emerge, the need for data protection will continue to grow. Whether your business is small, medium, or enterprise, it is imperative that you safeguard your sensitive data. With countless options for data protection platforms, it can become overwhelming trying to choose a professional, trustworthy company to help meet your needs. In today’s article, we will compare three popular data protection companies to help you find the best option for your unique business.

The Top Three Contenders 

Before we dive into the specific brand features offered, we’ve compiled brief overviews of each company based on their websites. Keep reading for more details. 

TokenEx

TokenEx is a third-party agnostic cloud tokenization provider that is dedicated to protecting the world’s most sensitive data. Founded in 2010 to reduce PCI scope and the risk of accepting credit card data, this company has evolved to offer data protection for a wide variety of sensitive data types. This includes personal data, PII, PHI, ACH, and any other structured data set, as well as compliance solutions for GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, NACHA, and much more.

Spreedly 

Spreedly is a Payments Orchestration solution dedicated to providing a diversified and inclusive payment ecosystem. This platform allows businesses to use any payment or gateway service, making it easy for businesses to keep their payments secure and meet compliance standards. Spreedly’s secure and flexible platform helps its customers and payment service providers safely complete transactions. 

Very Good Security 

Very Good Security (VGS) is a data protection platform dedicated to safeguarding sensitive data, as well as maintaining security and compliance with privacy laws. The platform allows customers to safely collect, protect, and exchange their sensitive data. This includes card details, financial data, identification documents, vacation rental payments, and other credentials. VGS helps customers offload the risk of a data breach by vaulting customer data in its own secure environment and replacing it with an aliased version. 

The Ultimate Comparison 

In this section, we will look at the top features to consider when choosing a data protection platform for your business.  

Data Protection 

As a business, protecting your sensitive data is a top priority for your long-term success. The TokenEx platform is a data protection platform that can gather and tokenize any structured sensitive data. In turn, this prevents data from being compromised due to a data breach. This platform offers a variety of services to collect and share data, including a web API, hosted iFrame, browser-based encryption, mobile API, batch processing, contact center integrations, and a Transparent Gateway API (TGAPI). The TGAPI enables clients the unique ability to protect inbound data before it reaches the client environment while also allowing for easy and secure data sharing with third parties. The flexibility these services provide means you will not be required to significantly alter how you’re currently interacting with sensitive data.

At Spreedly, the Payment Orchestration platform can store, tokenize, and optimize digital payment methods for businesses. A business connects to Spreedly’s secure platform to capture and store customers’ payment details. This is a safer approach compared to a business storing its sensitive data in its own internal environment. 

Like TokenEx and Spreedly, Very Good Security provides a secure platform to collect, protect, and exchange customers’ sensitive data. To ensure this data is protected, VGS offers several options to collect this data, including a secure web form, HTTPS or SFTP protocols, SMTP emails, browser integrations, vault API, native phone SDKs, and third-party integrations.  

Compliance

Depending on the type and size of your business, you will likely have to meet specific industry compliance data requirements. Since meeting compliance requirements takes a lot of time and money, businesses can benefit from using a data protection platform.  

TokenEx was founded by two former PCI QSAs dedicated to building the most secure and flexible data protection solution. The TokenEx platform was specifically built to help organizations achieve PCI compliance. For example, TokenEx helps businesses by storing their data on a secure cloud platform and offering seamless integration for third-party partners. Thus, this will ensure that businesses can stay compliant with their data protection requirements for accepting, storing, and transmitting sensitive data. The TokenEx platform is GDPR- and CCPA-compliant, as well as compliant with major industry standards including PCI DSS, HITRUST CSF, ISO 27001, NACHA, and SOC 2 and 3.

Spreedly helps address compliance demands by maintaining your payment integrations and supporting evolving compliance standards. This will help businesses focus on offering exceptional services to their customers without the worry of meeting compliance requirements on their own. Spreedly meets data protection requirements for PCI DSS and SCA requirements for PSD2 compliance. 

Like the other two platforms, Very Good Security gathers sensitive data and replaces it with an aliased version on a secure platform. This version can be used like the original data but will reduce the risk of the sensitive data being exposed in a data breach. Thus, VGS is compliant with major industry requirements and regulations, including PCI and SOC 2.  

Flexibility

When it comes to data protection management, businesses may prefer a hands-on or hands-off approach. Others may prefer a mix of both. No matter what your preferences are, your business deserves the flexibility to choose how your sensitive data is stored, managed, accessed, and transferred.  

TokenEx offers a fully flexible approach that allows businesses to decide how their data is transmitted to partners and payment service providers (PSPs). The Transparent Gateway API 2.0 allows tokenized data to be sent to any payment gateway, processor, service provider, or other API endpoints without the need to handle data internally. The TGAPI can connect to any API endpoint, regardless of the current PSP integrations used by TokenEx. The Payment Services API 2.0 allows businesses to connect to common payment service providers through a single point of integration. Like Spreedly and VGS, TokenEx offers additional integrations for network tokens and account updater.

As for Spreedly, this company offers simple payment strategies for businesses. This is useful for businesses that don’t have the internal bandwidth or specific expertise to handle data protection and payment routing themselves. Spreedly uses a payment platform that makes it easy to process transactions via a single point of integration. This is similar to the TokenEx Payment Services API, although Spreedly’s offering is more robust in terms of prebuilt features and third-party tools such as card routing. However, TokenEx’s Transparent Gateway API provides more flexibility for businesses that require custom integrations or need to work with PSPs that don’t have an existing relationship with Spreedly. Specifically, Spreedly’s API is best served for organizations that work with a processor or gateway that is already integrated with Spreedly. If this isn’t the case, your organization’s ability to use Spreedly could be limited. 

Very Good Security offers a simple, yet flexible approach to help businesses achieve their goals in a quick, secure manner. Businesses can keep their sensitive data secure on the VGS platform, while also having the freedom to choose what they want to do with their data. This means VGS becomes the custodian of this data, rather than the owner. 

TokenEx, Spreedly, and Very Good Security all offer clients full ownership and control over their data, a huge selling point for clients. Even though payment service providers (PSP) may offer “free” tokenization services, they typically restrict your organization’s ability to control your data. One of the main benefits of working with a third-party data protection platform is the control you have over your sensitive data and with whom you choose to share it. 

Data Security

Data security is a core element of any successful business. Customers need to know that their sensitive data will remain secure. Since TokenEx was founded by payment security experts to protect the world’s most sensitive data, it makes sense that data security is at the core of what they do. TokenEx uses secure methods that will give businesses peace of mind that their data is not exposed. Specifically, TokenEx encrypts all customer data in transit and at rest using industry standards and best practices. TokenEx uses the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm with a key size of 256 bits for data at rest. TLS 1.2 protects data in transit, helping to secure network traffic. TokenEx also adheres to strict controls for logical security, network security, vulnerability management, application security and change management, business continuity, and physical security and environmental controls.

Although Spreedly specializes in payment orchestration and processing, Spreedly is still dedicated to keeping its customers’ financial information secure. This company maintains several compliance standards and receives third-party audits to test for data safety, privacy, and security. To achieve this, Spreedly uses a secure cloud platform, strict data transfer requirements, and the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) for data encryption within their vault. 

Like the other two companies, Very Good Security takes data security very seriously. TokenEx, Spreedly, and VGS all use multiple methods to obtain customers’ sensitive data in a secure manner. For VGS, these methods include secure Collect.js files, HTTPS or SFTP protocols, APIs, and various integrations. In turn, this reduces security risks because businesses do not have to manage their data on their own internal systems.  

While researching for a data protection platform, data security will be on your list of requirements. Fortunately, all three contenders have a strong commitment to keeping their clients’ data safe and secure via tokenization methods on their platforms.  

Customer Support

For most people, excellent customer support is crucial. Whether you have a technical problem or just need some advice, it’s important to know that someone will be there to assist your business in an efficient, timely manner. TokenEx offers expert 24/7 technical support to achieve this. To reach technical support, clients use the Client Portal, which is a secure environment to share information and data with the support team. Clients can also contact the support line via email, phone, or chatbox. Those who are interested in learning more can fill out the TokenEx contact us form. Additionally, TokenEx offers a comprehensive resource guide that covers the basics, case studies, features, and guides to learn everything you need to know about using its platform.

Unlike TokenEx, Spreedly offers support only during their business hours, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. EST. To receive support from Spreedly, clients can contact the team via email or submit a ticket request or a contact us form. Partners can fill out a form to receive details about joining Spreedly’s partnership program. This company also includes a useful online resource guide that covers the basics, features, services, and guides to learn everything you need to know about using its platform.  

VGS clients can contact the company by filling out its contact form. However, Very Good Security does not list an email address or phone number for alternative contact methods. Like the other two companies, VGS provides a technical resource section on its website. This section includes everything you need to know from getting started and guides to integrations and security.  

All three brands offer a FAQ page, which is a standard feature on business sites. Clients can quickly get answers to commonly asked questions, which can help them decide which data protection platform to use. Since TokenEx and Spreedly offer a variety of contact methods, clients may find it easier to reach their customer support teams. This is especially true when you have an urgent issue, and a contact form may not provide a quick enough response compared to calling or emailing a company.

Payment Gateway Integrations

Payment gateways allow your business to process credit card payments (either in person or online) by connecting merchant accounts to payment processors. TokenEx can work with a wide range of payment gateways by facilitating the transmission of tokenized data to any API endpoint. The TokenEx Payment Services API 2.0 provides prebuilt connections to the most popular payment gateways. However, TokenEx also supports the use of additional gateways with its Transparent Gateway API 2.0, which allows you to build low-code integrations to your desired endpoints. TokenEx clients are using this capability to connect to hundreds of payment endpoints around the world integrating data with PSPs, payment gateways, and third-party APIs. This type of flexibility is essential, especially if your business is growing or could benefit from the additional functionality of independent multiprocessor relationships.   

Additionally, Spreedly can work with the most common payment gateways. This makes it easier for businesses to achieve their goals, such as expanding into new markets. Spreedly clients can connect to many of the most popular gateways in multiple currencies. Because Spreedly prioritizes simplicity and ease of use over flexibility, it might not be the best option for businesses with complex third-party integrations or gateways not currently supported by the platform.  

Like TokenEx, Very Good Security also offers a flexible approach to payment gateways. VGS enables customers to integrate their data with PSPs, payment gateways, and third-party APIs. These payment transactions can be directed anywhere you choose. VGS offers sample code to guide clients on their integration.

Rather than be limited to a platform that only works with a couple of gateways, it may be a better long-term solution to choose a company that offers the flexibility to add and remove PSPs as you see fit so you can help scale your business. Indeed, this allows your organization to work with a variety of payment service providers and third-party technologies to improve the value and efficiency of your digital transactions. This means that companies like TokenEx and VGS can safely transmit sensitive data to numerous partners, processors, gateways, and other third-party providers. It’s hard to beat that type of flexibility. 

TokenEx, Spreedly, and VGS all offer varying degrees of flexibility regarding gateway integrations. Thus, the best option for your organization depends on your unique needs. For example, do you prioritize convenience and want to work primarily with major payment gateways? If yes, then Spreedly is a great choice. However, if you need a platform that maximizes your control and flexibility, TokenEx or VGS are solid options. 

Pricing

Pricing is an important factor to consider, especially since you will likely need a data protection platform’s services for the lifetime of your business. The current pandemic has placed a great deal of strain on businesses everywhere. Thus, a company that provides a flexible payment plan is a huge selling point for many today. TokenEx offers flexible tiers and custom pricing that will help you find an option that works best for your business. Contact this company to learn more about its affordable plans.

Unlike TokenEx, Spreedly offers three different pricing plans on its website. This consists of the starting, growing, and scaling plans. Each plan highlights the main features of the plan, as well as the price per month and a link to get started. Spreedly charges a monthly fee, as well as a fee for each standard API call. For those that want a transparent overview of prices, you will appreciate this company. However, you will need to contact Spreedly for pricing regarding its enterprise plan or add-on features.  

Like Spreedly, Very Good Security offers its clients a simple transaction-based pricing plan. Clients have access to two plans – pay as you go can be started for free, and the annual contract is a monthly plan. Each plan includes an overview of the main features and a link to get started. VGS also offers customized plans to ensure its clients find a plan that works with their budget. 

Although TokenEx does not currently have specific numbers on its pricing page, they emphasize that they offer flexible and affordable pricing. This is something all businesses can appreciate. 

Which Data Protection is Right for Your Business? 

The type of data protection your business needs will vary based on your industry, compliance requirements, security needs, budget, and long-term goals. In general, a platform that provides flexibility regarding data protection, payment gateways, data ownership and control, third-party integrations, and pricing will give your organization the tools and support necessary to scale successfully. We hope this comparison article helped you on your quest to find the best data protection solution for your business. If you are interested in learning more or have any questions about this article, please contact us today.