What does CVV stand for on a Visa credit card?

CVV on a Visa credit card stands for Card Verification Value.

The CVV is a security code used to help verify that a customer making a card-not-present purchase has access to the physical card. On most Visa cards, it is the three-digit number printed on the back, usually on or beside the signature panel. Unlike the card number, it is not embossed and is not intended to be stored in a merchant’s standard transaction records.

A common mix-up is treating CVV as a universal name for every card security code. Visa generally uses CVV, while Mastercard commonly uses CVC, and American Express uses a four-digit CID on the front of the card. These labels refer to closely related security features, but their placement and terminology vary by payment network.

The printed code is often called CVV2 when referring specifically to the value used for online or other card-not-present transactions. Chip and contactless cards may also support dynamic verification values, which can change between transactions and provide additional protection against copied card data.