What is CCV / CVV Number and where to Find on Credit Card?

CCV is a new authentication scheme established by credit card companies to further efforts towards reducing fraud for internet transactions. It consists of requiring a card holder to enter the CCV number in at transaction time to verify that the card is on hand.

Visa & MasterCard: This number is printed on your cards in the signature area of the back of the card. (It is the last 3 digits AFTER the credit card number in the signature area of the card).

American Express: This number is printed on the front of your card. (It is the last 4 digits).

The CCV / CVV / CVV2 number enhances fraud protection and helps to validate two things:

The customer has the credit card in their possession.
The credit card number is legitimate

By helping to prevent credit card fraud, the CCV / CVV / CVV2 number keeps costs down for everyone.

The Main Purpose of the CCV / CVV Number on a Credit Card

On every transaction you make using your credit or debit card, a unique 3-digit/4-digit CCV / CVV code is required to complete the transaction. Have you ever thought about the importance of the CCV / CVV number is? A CVV number is the acronym for Card Verification Value. It is required to complete transactions using cards, but along with that, it also provides added security against scams.

What is CCV / CVV number used for?

All financial institutions that issue credit or debit cards have developed a system in which every card is provided with a unique CCV / CVV code. This code is required to complete any monetary transactions that are carried out using the card. CCV / CVV number is different from the PIN number which is like a password to complete card transactions. CVV number is present on the back side of your card on the magnetic strip. It verifies that the card is physically available with the individual using it during the transaction.

CCV / CVV Protects You against Fraud

Debit and credit cards are mainly used for online transactions or for other virtual payment gateways. These portals are not allowed to save any information about the CCV / CVV number of the cardholder since it is against the Per Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards. Hence, even if the vendor has all the other details of your card, they cannot access the CCV / CVV. This makes it impossible for anyone to misuse your card information. So if there is a breach in the data security of the credit card issuing company, the CCV / CVV is not stored in the databases. This makes it impossible to use your credit card for transactions without the CCV / CVV.

Does CVV have any drawbacks?

The only drawback is that if the credit card is entirely duplicated with the magnetic stripe and the fraudster has access to your CCV CVV code as well, then the card can be easily misused.

Now that you are aware about the role that CCV/CVV/CVV2 plays on the credit card, share this information with others as well to protect people from being a part of a scam.