CVV2 Allows Merchants to Authenticate Visa® Cards

If you accept credit cards at your business, you are enjoying the many benefits that come along with that such as increased purchases (i.e. impulse buying, larger purchases etc.) and more customers!

A prudent merchant will also make sure to minimize risk as much as possible when it comes to credit card acceptance and potential fraud. But did you know what there are actually built-in security features on Visa cards that are meant to help merchants reduce fraud? It’s called CVV2.

CVV2 stands for Card Verification Value 2 and is used for card-not-present (non face-to-face) environments such as eCommerce transactions or sales captured through a payment gateway/virtual terminal. Those 3 digit numbers you see on the back of a Visa card is actually the CVV2. When you or a customer enters these digits to submit their payment, the card issuer actually runs that code to check its validity and then sends the answer back to the merchant to either allow the transaction or not. Further, it is advised that you also ask the customer for the expiration date on the card, for added security.

Utilizing CVV2 greatly helps reduce chargebacks and fraud! If you have any questions regarding CVV2 or credit card fraud protection tips, contact Group ISO Merchant Services at 800-722-GISO.