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sonarPay Migration: The Token Transfer & Matching Process

Jennifer Trower Updated by Jennifer Trower

Read Time: 5 mins

Stage 3 of your sonarPay migration is when payment tokens from your previous processor are transferred to sonarPay’s processor and matched to the payment methods already recorded in your Sonar instance.

After this stage is complete, you will receive a results report showing which payment methods matched successfully and which could not be linked. Any unmatched payment methods should be reviewed and followed up on before moving to Stage 4: Approval and Go-Live.

Prerequisites

What Retokenization Means

When a payment processor stores card or bank account data, it represents that data with a unique identifier called a token. Your previous processor issued its own tokens, while sonarPay’s processor uses a different token format.

Retokenization is the process of replacing old processor tokens with new sonarPay-compatible tokens. This allows existing subscriber payment methods to continue working in sonarPay without requiring every subscriber to re-enter their payment details.

During this process, payment token information is securely exchanged between processors within a PCI-compliant environment. Sonar then matches the new tokens to the correct payment method records in your instance.

What the Matching Step Produces

After the token file is processed, Sonar attempts to match each incoming token to an existing payment method record in your instance.

When matching is complete, you will receive a results report that identifies:

  1. Matched tokens: These are payment methods that were successfully linked to a new token and are ready for use in sonarPay.
  2. Unmatched tokens: These are payment methods that could not be linked. These records need to be reviewed so you can identify the affected subscribers.
The report helps you understand what needs attention before moving to Stage 4.

Why Some Tokens May Not Match

An unmatched token does not always mean something failed. It means the required data was not available to complete the match.

Common reasons a token may not match include:

  1. The token file is incomplete: Your previous processor may not have included all payment method records in the initial export, or an additional file may still be in progress.
  2. Account IDs are missing or mismatched: If the Account IDs in the token file do not match the Account IDs in your Sonar instance, Sonar cannot link the token to the correct account.
  3. The previous processor could not locate the record: Some records may not be available for export if the card was replaced, the record was purged, or the original data was not stored in a transferable format.
  4. Tokens were stored under another MID or company: If an additional merchant ID or company was not included in the original token request, those tokens may not be included in the transfer.
If the unmatched count is much higher than expected, contact payments@sonar.software before continuing.

Resolving Unmatched Tokens

For each unmatched token in your results report, the subscriber associated with that payment method will not have a valid payment method on file when the migration goes live.

To resolve unmatched tokens:

  1. Review the unmatched token results report.
  2. Identify the affected subscriber accounts.
  3. Contact those subscribers before go-live.
  4. Ask them to re-enter their payment details through your customer portal.
  5. Confirm that the subscriber has added a valid payment method before the next billing cycle, especially if the subscriber uses autopay.

Proactive outreach is important because subscribers on autopay whose old payment method was removed will need to add a new payment method before their next billing cycle. If autopay fails for this reason, the account contact may not receive an automatic payment failure notification.

Subscribers who are not on autopay will be prompted to enter payment details the next time they make a payment.

Inactive accounts with unmatched payment methods do not require additional action.

Subscriber Outreach Template

Use the template below as a starting point. Update the placeholders with your company name, portal URL, and support contact before sending.

Subject: Action required: Please update your payment details

Hi [Subscriber first name],

We’ve recently upgraded our billing platform, and as part of that process, your payment method on file was not automatically carried over. To help avoid any interruption to your service, please log in to your account and re-enter your preferred payment details at your earliest convenience.

To update your payment method:

  1. Navigate to [your customer portal URL].
  2. Log in with your account credentials.
  3. Go to Billing > Payment Methods.
  4. Add your card or bank account.

If you have any questions or have trouble accessing your account, please contact us at [your support email or phone number], and we’ll be happy to help.

Thank you,

[Your name]

[Your company name]

Before sending, confirm that the portal navigation path is accurate for your configuration and that the message meets your organization’s standards for subscriber billing communications.

What Happens If Unmatched Tokens Are Not Resolved Before Go-Live

If an unmatched token is not resolved before Stage 4, the affected subscriber will not have a valid payment method on file in sonarPay.

For autopay accounts, this means autopay will not run, and recurring invoices may remain unpaid until the subscriber adds a new payment method. Resolving unmatched tokens before go-live helps reduce missed payments and billing follow-up after migration.

What’s Next

After you review the results report and complete outreach for any unmatched tokens, you can move to Stage 4: Approval and Go-Live.

Need Help?

If you have questions about your token transfer results, require help interpreting your matching report, or want to review your subscriber outreach before sending, contact the sonarPay onboarding team at payments@sonar.software.

How did we do?

sonarPay Migration: Approving Your Match & Going Live

sonarPay Monthly Statement: Overview

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