> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ozura.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Card Payments — Using the API (your own inputs)

> Tokenize cards from your backend with your own form inputs. Understand PCI/DSS scope implications.

# Card Payments — Using the API (your own inputs)

If you collect card data with **your own form inputs** (instead of Ozura's secure [Elements](/guides/vault/card-payments/elements) or [Checkout](/guides/vault/card-payments/checkout) page), you need to understand the **PCI/DSS scope implications** for your application. Handling cardholder data on your systems increases your compliance scope and security responsibilities. If you want your own checkout UI but want card data to never touch your server, use [Elements](/guides/vault/card-payments/elements) so tokenization happens in the browser.

## Flow

1. **Tokenize** — From your server, call `POST /tokenize` with card number, expiry, and optionally CVV. See [API Reference → POST /tokenize](/api-reference/vault/tokenize) for request/response.
2. **Store** — Save the returned `token` and, if you sent CVV, `cvc_session_id`. Use the token in Proxy requests; CVC session is short-lived (90 seconds; use test tokens for long-lived test CVC).
3. **Charge** — Send the token to your payment processor via the [Proxy](/guides/vault/proxy/overview) (see [API Reference → POST /proxy/transaction](/api-reference/vault/proxy-transaction)) or use [OzuraPay API](/guides/payments/payapi/overview) (e.g. [transactions](/guides/payments/payapi/transactions)).

Your server must never expose your Vault API key to the browser. Card data should only be sent to Vault from your backend.

## Next steps

* [Using Elements](/guides/vault/card-payments/elements) — Your own checkout UI with our Elements; card data never touches your server.
* [Proxy](/guides/vault/proxy/overview) — Forward tokenized card data to your PSP without handling raw card data.
* [OzuraPay API transactions](/guides/payments/payapi/transactions) — Process payments with OzuraPay API.
* [API Reference — Tokenize](/api-reference/vault/tokenize) — Full request/response for `POST /tokenize`.
* [API Reference — Proxy](/api-reference/vault/proxy-transaction) — Full request/response for `POST /proxy/transaction`.