CVV / CVC

The Card Verification Value (CVV) or Card Verification Code (CVC) is a 3- or 4-digit security number printed on physical credit and debit cards.

Unlike the primary account number (PAN), the CVV is not encoded on the magnetic stripe and is prohibited from being stored by merchants post-authorization according to PCI-DSS rules. Requiring the CVV during checkout proves that the customer has the physical card in their possession, significantly reducing card-not-present fraud.