Introduction to Creating and Using Security Keys {#keys-intro}
==============================================================

`Visa Acceptance Solutions` requires you to use security keys when sending and receiving API messages. This guide explains how to create and manage your security keys using the `Business Center`.  
A security key, also known as a *cryptographic key*, is a string of randomly or mathematically generated characters that are tied to a specific cryptographic algorithm. These keys are used to:

* Encrypt plain text to allow users to send text across the internet with confidence that the content is secure.
* Decrypt the encrypted message so that the text can be read by the intended recipient.
* Validate that the encrypted message has not been tampered with while in transit.

These are the available `Visa Acceptance Solutions` security keys:

* Message-Level Encryption (MLE) Keys
* Meta Keys
* PGP Keys
* REST API Keys
* Secure Acceptance Keys
* Simple Order Keys
* SOAP Toolkit Keys

> WARNING
> Visa Acceptance Solutions will no longer support SOAP toolkit keys by these dates:
>
> * **Test environment:** July 16, 2025
> * **Production environment:** August 13, 2025
>
> If you are integrating to the Simple Order API, you can use the compliant certificate-based *Simple Order key* . For more information, see [Simple Order API Keys](/docs/vas/en-us/security-keys/user/all/ada/security-keys/keys-manage/keys-simple-order-intro.md "").

Additional Information
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For more information about cryptographic keys, see the *[Key (Cryptography)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_(cryptography) "")* article on Wikipedia.