Checkout reliability

Link credentials are not part of a card-data export

Stripe's processor migration process excludes Link credentials from its card-data export. Do not promise that a returning customer's Link method will appear at the destination because other card data is being transferred. Identify the actual saved-method types, obtain the outgoing export scope and the incoming approved provider's supported checkout route, and base buyer messages on those confirmed facts. The exclusion answers what this export carries; it does not establish every possible Link experience at the destination.

For: A research-only merchant planning a provider change where returning customers have used Link at checkout.

Updated 2026-10-01

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Separate Link from the card records in migration scope

Start with the saved-method information your authorized payment records actually identify. Distinguish a record identified as Link from other card records proposed for transfer. Do not infer portability from a card brand, a matching email address or the fact that a buyer previously completed checkout.

Stripe's payment-data export documentation describes transferring card data to another PCI DSS Level 1 processor through Stripe's process. It explicitly excludes Link credentials. The phrase card-data migration therefore cannot be used as shorthand for moving every way a customer has paid or saved details.

If the available records do not distinguish method types, record that as an inventory gap and have the provider identify the scope through its authorized process. Do not ask buyers or staff to send payment credentials to fill that gap.

Get separate answers from the outgoing and incoming providers

The outgoing scope should state which card data is included and that Link credentials are excluded from this Stripe export. The incoming scope should state what that provider can receive and how the approved destination checkout will serve returning customers. These are separate confirmations: agreement to receive an export does not make an excluded credential appear in it.

Document the destination provider account, approved integration and supported method route in the merchant's internal project records. If the destination has its own documented Link support, assess that arrangement on its own terms. Do not describe it as proof that the outgoing export transferred Link credentials. If support is unconfirmed, leave the returning-buyer experience unconfirmed.

The PCI requirement in Stripe's transfer process concerns the recipient of the card data. It is not approval of your research-only business, its catalog or the destination account. A technically supported method remains separate from the provider's decision about the actual merchant.

Make a specific decision about the return purchase

For each documented method type, classify the destination plan as confirmed through the agreed transfer process, excluded from that process with a separately confirmed route, or unresolved. Link belongs in the excluded category for this export even if another destination arrangement is later confirmed. This keeps an export completion notice from being mistaken for a complete buyer-experience check.

Where the destination requires the buyer to enter or select a method again, record that requirement from the destination's confirmed workflow before communicating it. Do not promise automatic reuse, universal availability or uninterrupted return purchases. Conversely, the export exclusion alone is not evidence that every buyer must lose access to Link everywhere.

Keep access to the old payment history as a separate operational requirement. Stripe's card-data export excludes payment history and other objects. A successful transfer cannot establish that past payments, refund references or support history are searchable in the new provider. Identify where the team will retrieve those old records.

Give buyer communication an evidence owner

Assign one person to approve the wording about saved methods. That person should be able to point to the outgoing exclusion and the incoming confirmation for each promise. If a route is unresolved, remove any claim that all saved methods will carry over and identify the remaining confirmation needed before making a more specific statement.

The handoff is complete for this decision when the merchant knows which data does not transfer, which destination behavior has been confirmed and which buyer instructions follow. It is not complete merely because the provider accepted a migration request.

For a Prism checkout-review consultation, describe the provider change, the identified method types and the continuity question. Confirm migration or implementation scope, responsibilities, fees and terms before work. Use the public inquiry for that summary; the providers' approved transfer route handles payment data, not the consultation form.

Credential-portability scope

Complete a separate internal entry for each saved-method type actually identified in your records. Treat Link as excluded from Stripe's card-data export and record any destination route separately. A blank destination confirmation means continuity is unresolved. Do not enter card numbers, tokens or private payment links.

Worksheet entries are not submitted by Prism’s worksheet and are not saved by the site. Use record types, availability, anonymized observations, or match/mismatch results. Do not enter government identifiers, customer names or addresses, customer messages, receipt-access links, card or bank details, passwords, or keys. Send sensitive documents only through the provider’s verified secure channel.

Credential-portability scope. The last column is for temporary notes.
Scope itemEvidence requiredDecision it supportsYour record
Saved method typeThe provider's actual method classification, rather than a familiar card logo or the buyer's email.Separates Link credentials from the card records proposed for transfer.
Outgoing export scopeStripe's transfer scope and the outgoing provider's confirmation for the merchant's actual request.Identifies the card data included without expanding the export to every saved method.
Documented exclusionsThe explicit Link exclusion and the exclusion of payment history and other objects.These records cannot be marked delivered by this card-data export.
Incoming supported routeThe incoming approved provider's confirmation of the destination integration and the returning-buyer workflow.Establishes what the destination supports independently of what the outgoing export contains.
Required buyer actionAny documented requirement to choose or enter a method again in that confirmed workflow.Supports only the instructions actually required; an unknown route does not justify a seamless-return promise.
Old-history retrievalWhere authorized staff will retrieve existing payment and refund records after the change.Keeps support continuity separate from credential transfer.
Buyer communication ownerThe person approving the message and the provider confirmations on which its saved-method claims depend.Unconfirmed claims remain out of the message until their evidence exists.

These are temporary notes. Leaving or reloading this page may clear them. Worksheet entries are not sent automatically. If you copy notes into the consultation message and submit the form, Prism receives them as part of your request.

Limits

  • The Link exclusion describes Stripe's card-data export, not every provider's migration process or every destination's possible Link integration.
  • A receiving processor's PCI status and technical compatibility do not establish merchant eligibility, legal clearance or automatic transfer of consent.
  • Never put card numbers, authentication codes, payment tokens or API secrets in the worksheet, ordinary messages or the public consultation form.

Related guides

Sources

  • Stripe payment data export — checked 2026-09-21. Stripe transfers card data only to another PCI DSS Level 1 processor through its process. Link credentials, payment history and other objects are excluded. This export scope does not establish the destination checkout's supported methods.

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