Developer's Guide

Table Of Contents
Website Payments Pro Payflow Edition Developer’s Guide 35
Performing Direct Payment Credit Card Transactions
Card Security Code Validation
4
Card Security Code Validation
The card security code is a 3- or 4-digit number (not part of the credit card number) that is
printed on the credit card. Because the card security code appears only on the card and not on
receipts or statements, the card security code provides some assurance that the physical card is
in the possession of the buyer.
This fraud prevention tool has various names, depending on the payment network. Visa calls it
CVV2 and MasterCard calls it CVC2. To ensure that your customers see a consistent name,
PayPal recommends use of the term card security code on all end-user materials.
You must provide a CVV2 value as a transaction parameter for those credit cards that use card
security code validation. The value is required for Visa and MasterCard cards.
IMPORTANT:To comply with credit card association regulations, do not store the CVV2
value.
On most cards, the card security code is printed on the back of the card (usually in the
signature field). All or part of the card number appears before the card security code (567 in
the example). For American Express, the 4-digit number (1122 in the example) is printed on
the front of the card, above and to the right of the embossed account number. Be sure to
explain this to your customers.
For details on PayPal processor card security code responses, see “Responses to Transaction
Requests” on page 37.
FIGURE 4.1 Card security code
Example CVV2 Request
This example request parameter string includes the CVV2 parameter.
TRXTYPE=A&TENDER=C&PWD=SuperUserPassword&PARTNER=PayPal&VENDOR=SuperMerchan
t&USER=SuperMerchant&ACCT=5555555555554444&EXPDATE=0308&AMT=123.00
&CVV2=56
7
0
Example CVV2 Response
In this example result, the card security code value matches the value in the bank’s records.