Glossary · Finance & Payments

CVV (Card Verification Value)

A CVV is the short security code on a payment card, usually three or four digits, used to help confirm the person paying has the physical card details.

Updated October 6, 2026

A CVV (Card Verification Value), also called CVC or CSC depending on the network, is a three- or four-digit code printed on a payment card that is separate from the card number. It is requested during card-not-present payments to help show that the payer has the card in hand.

Why it matters

Because the code is not embossed or stored in the magnetic stripe data used for in-person payments, a thief who only copies a card number from a receipt or database lacks it. Card-security rules prohibit merchants from storing the CVV after a payment is authorised, even in encrypted form. That is why saved-card checkouts ask you to re-enter it, or use tokenization and other authentication instead. It is one signal among several, not complete protection.

Example

On a checkout form:

Card number: 4111 1111 1111 1111   (test number)
Expiry:      12/30
CVV:         123

The gateway sends the CVV with the authorisation request to the issuer, which compares it to the value it can calculate. The merchant's system should never write it to logs or a database.

Common mistakes

  • Logging full request bodies, accidentally capturing CVVs.
  • Believing a correct CVV proves the buyer is the owner. It only shows knowledge of the code.
  • Confusing it with the card PIN or the OTP sent for authentication.

Rules vary by country; this entry is a definition only.

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