What is the CVV Number?
CARD VERIFICATION VALUE (CVV) CODE
CVV is a new authentication procedure established by credit card companies to further
efforts towards reducing fraud for internet transactions. It consists of requiring
a card holder to enter the CVV number in at transaction time to verify that the
card is on hand. The CVV code is a security feature for "card not present" transactions
(e.g., Internet transactions), and now appears on most (but not all) major credit
and debit cards. This new feature is a three- or four-digit code which provides
a cryptographic check of the information embossed on the card. Therefore, the CVV
code is not part of the card number itself.
The CVV code helps ascertain that the customer placing the order actually possesses
the credit/debit card and that the card account is legitimate. Each credit card
company has its own name for the CVV code, but it functions the same for all major
card types. (VISA refers to the code as CVV2, MasterCard calls it CVC2, and American
Express calls it CID.)
The back panel of most Visa/MasterCard/Discover cards contains the full 16-digit
account number, followed by the CVV/CVC code. Some banks, though, only show the
last four digits of the account number followed by the code. When you submit your
credit card information your data is protected by Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology
certified by a digital certificate.
