Credit card giant Visa pledged to remove 16-digit account numbers to better protect consumers when they are making mobile and online payments.

Visa’s tokenisation scheme, which was launched in autumn last year, replaces the actual credit card details with a unique series of numbers (the so-called token), so keeping the card away from potential exposure.

The credit card firm has already allied itself with Apple by enabling Visa-backed mobile payments on Apple Pay, which launched in October 2014.

This year it says other leading device manufacturers and technology companies will begin deploying Visa Token Service on their phones, tablets and other connected devices, although it did not share any names.

Visa also plans to tokenise transactions initiated with Visa Checkout, its online payment service. In addition, more than 110 merchants globally, including Gap, Gymboree, Neiman Marcus, Orbitz, Pizza Hut and Staples, who have already deployed Visa Checkout, will have the opportunity to benefit from Visa’s token technology.

In 2015 financial institutions globally across Asia Pacific, Latin America and the U.S. will start to rollout the token service in support of their mobile payment applications and services, forecast Visa.

Visa says it also hopes to sign up some of the leading e-commerce giants to tokenisation during 2015.