Manifold is designed so that real card numbers never touch our servers. This is true whether you charge a fresh card or use a card saved on file.
When a card is charged
- The card form is served by Authorize.net inside its own secure window (the AcceptUI lightbox). Manifold's page never displays card-entry fields of its own.
- The card data goes directly from Authorize.net's window to Authorize.net; it never passes through Manifold.
- Authorize.net returns a one-time encrypted token (a "nonce") to your browser.
- Your browser hands that nonce to Manifold's server, which uses it (paired with your account's Transaction Key) to ask Authorize.net to actually run the charge.
- The nonce expires after one use and cannot be used to charge again.
What Manifold's database records about every card payment
- Card brand (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover) - non-sensitive
- Card last 4 digits - non-sensitive, useful for receipts and reconciliation
- The Authorize.net transaction id for the charge - so we can void or refund later
- For saved cards: Authorize.net's customer-profile id, payment-profile id, expiration month + year, and the verbatim text the customer agreed to
What Manifold's database NEVER records
- The full card number (PAN)
- The CVV / CVC / security code
- The magnetic stripe data
- Any data that could be used to reconstruct the card
This separation puts Manifold at the lowest PCI compliance scope (SAQ A), which is the same scope a website operator has when they embed a Stripe Checkout or PayPal button. Authorize.net handles the heavy compliance work because the card data physically lives in their vault, not ours.
If a customer asks where their card is stored, the accurate answer is: "in Authorize.net's PCI-compliant vault, not in our system." If a customer asks for their saved card to be deleted, you can archive it in Manifold (which stops charging it) and additionally log in to your Authorize.net merchant account to delete the customer profile there for a hard delete.