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PGP Key

uses Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) encryption for Account Updater response files and Notice of Change (NOC) reports.

For information about Account Updater, see the Account Updater User Guide. For information about NOC reports, see Electronic Check Services Developer Guide.

A PGP public/private key pair enables you to use encryption to protect payment data. You exchange the public part of this key pair with , which uses the public key to encrypt response files or NOC reports. You use the private part of the key pair to decrypt the response files or NOC reports. Only the private key can decrypt files that are encrypted with the public key.

This section describes key information, such as:

  • PGP keys expire after 3 years.
  • Security keys can be used to make any request, including payments. Treat your security keys as you would any secure password.
  • You must use separate keys for the test and production environments.

Create a PGP Key

You can use any OpenPGP-compliant software to generate Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) keys. The key that you generate must be an RSA key. These free OpenPGP solutions are available:

recommends that you follow these guidelines:

  • Make the key at least 2048 bits long.
  • Store the private key in an encrypted format to protect it from unauthorized use.
  • Back up the private key in case of disaster.

Place the backup of the private key on removable media, and lock it in secure storage.

does not receive a copy of your private key and cannot decrypt files that are encrypted with your public key. After you create a public/private key pair, add the public key to the as described in the next section.

Add a PGP Key to Your Account

  1. Log in to the Business Center:

    Contact customer support for access to the .

  2. On the left navigation panel, choose Payment Configuration > Key Management.

    The Key Management page appears.

  3. Click + Generate key.

    The Create Key page appears.

  4. Select PGP and click Generate key.

  5. Enter the ASCII string into the text field, and click Create key.

Grant User Permissions

A user account requires certain permissions to work with PGP keys and the Account Updater request files and reports.

  1. Log in to the Business Center:

    Contact customer support for access to the .

  2. On the left navigation panel, navigate to Account Management > Roles.

  3. Choose the role that needs to work with PGP keys and click the edit button.

    The Edit User Role page appears.

  4. Choose from these permissions:

    • Under Credit Card Account Updater Permissions, choose View Status. This option enables the user to view the status of uploaded Account Updater request files and NOC reports.

    • Under Merchant Settings Permissions, choose PGP Security Settings. This option gives the user permission to upload, activate, and deactivate encryption keys.

    • Under Reporting Permissions, choose Report Download. This option gives the user permission to download Account Updater response files and NOC reports.

  5. Click Save when done.

Last published: September 29, 2026