The CVV2 number enhances fraud protection for transactions in order to qualify for the proper interchange rates. It helps to validate the following two things:

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

The following table describes how each credit card association implements CVV2 protection:

Card Brand	CVV2 Name	CVV2 Location
Visa	Card Verification Value	3-digit number printed in the signature space on the back of the card.
Mastercard	Card Validation Code	3-digit number printed in the signature space on the back of the card.
American Express	Card Verification Value	4-digit number on the front of the card. It is printed, not embossed like the card number.
Discover	Card Member ID	3-digit number printed in the signature space on the back of the card.

CVV2 protection takes place when a transaction is being processed and the card is not present. For example, when a cardholder makes a purchase over the telephone or on the Internet. The merchant asks the cardholder to read the CVV2 code from the card. The merchant adds this code to the transaction being sent to Portico. Entering CVV2 information along with Address Verification Service (AVS) should result in fewer chargebacks and lower Interchange rates.

CVV2/CID is highly encouraged, but not required for card not present transactions. Discover Card charges $0.50 per keyed transaction if CID is not present at the time of authorization.

Some Issuers may decline the sale if the CVV code does not match what is on file for the cardholder. Others may approve the transaction. If the transaction is approved, the merchant needs to make a decision to go forward with the sale based upon the CVV response. It is strongly recommended that the merchant ask the cardholder for another form of payment if the CVV code does not match ("N" response).

CVV protects the merchant against chargebacks if the response code is returned as a match and later the transaction is found to be fraudulent.

The following are the possible CVV2/CID response codes returned by Portico:

Value	Description
M	CVV Match
N	CVV No Match
P	Not Processed
S	Should Have Been Present
U	Issuer is not certified and/or Issuer has not provided Visa with the CVV2 encryption keys