Card security code: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:36, 21 August 2006

Revision as of 20:11, 9 September 2006

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[[Image:CVC2SampleVisaCVC2SampleVisaNew.png|thumb|180px|right|The Card Security Code is located on the back of all [[MastercardMasterCard]], [[VISA (credit card)|Visa]] and [[Discover Card|Discover]] credit or debit cards.]]

[[Image:CIDSampleAmex.png|thumb|180px|right|On [[American Express]] cards, the Card Security Code is located on the front.]]

The '''Card Security Code''' ('''CSC'''), sometimes called Card Verification Value or '''Code''' ('''CVV''' or '''CVC'''), is a security feature for [[credit card]] transactions, giving protection against [[credit card fraud]]. There are actually two security codes. The first, called CVC1 or CVV1, is encoded on the magnetic stripe of the card and used for in-person transactions. The second one, and the most cited, is CVV2 or CVC2. It is often used to secure "card not present" transactions occurring over the Internet, by mail, or over the phone.

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The CVV2 is a 3 or 4 digit value printed on the card, but not available on the magnetic stripe.

* [[MasterCard]], [[VISA (credit card)|Visa]] and [[Discover Card|Discover]] credit and debit cards have a 3 digit code, called the "CVC2" (card validation code), "CVV2" (card verification value) and "Cardmember ID" respectively. It is not embossed like the card number, and is always the final group of numbers printed on the back signature panel of the card.

New MasterCard and Visa cards feature the "CVC2" in a separate panel to the right of the signature strip [http://usa.visa.com/about_visa/newsroom/press_releases/nr305.html]. This has been done in order to prevent overwriting of the numbers by signing the card.

* [[American Express]] cards have a 4 digit code printed on the front side of the card above the number, referred to as the "CID", or Card Identification Number. It is printed flat, not embossed like the card number.