What is Card Verification Methods (CVM)?

The Card Verification Method, or CVM , consists of a 3 or 4-digit numeric code that is printed at the back of the credit card along with (after) the credit card number, where the card holder's signs in his signature on the card. This additional 3 or 4 digit numeric code is not embossed on the card nor available in the magnetic stripe. This additional 3 or 4 digit is code is featured / incorporated on all Master Cards and Visa cards issued world wide including cards 'Valid only in India and Nepal'. Visa calls this security feature as CVV2 and Master Card calls it as CVC2. According to a Gartner Group survey, 98% of the credit card numbers that the hackers / fraudsters are able to collect, are through charge slips thrown away by retailers / restaurants / Shopping Malls etc., which contains the Card Holders Name, the 15 or 16 digit credit card number and the expiry date. This extra 3 or 4 digit numeric code is not printed anywhere in the charge slip. Therefore the hackers / fraudsters cannot use these credit card numbers on CVM-validated transactions. The purpose of CVM is to ensure that the person submitting the transaction is in possession of the actual card, since the code cannot be copied from charge slips / receipts or skimmed from the magnetic band. CCAvenue requests your customer to provide this numeric code for your order and submits it with the authorization through the Citibank gateway. The card processor (i.e. Visa or Master Card) will then validate the code supplied with the number on record for the specific card, and return a match/no-match response. World Wide statistics have shown that fraud rates on transactions with verified CMV codes have historically been significantly lower than those for transactions without CVM (fraud rates on CVM-validated transaction are reportedly 90% lower than those for non-CVM transactions). The Card Verification Method process is an expensive proposition for the payment gateways and is therefore not incorporated by any Payment gateway in India with the sole exception of Citibank.