Payment method verification

When running a transaction, we recommend that a merchant verifies the payment method to make sure that the person using the card is the genuine cardholder. There are several ways that a merchant can verify a payment method:

PIN verification

A terminal prompts a cardholder to enter their PIN if the card is:
  • Chip and PIN
  • Swipe and PIN
  • Contactless and the card has reached the contactless CVM limit
    If the terminal is connected to our gateway, our gateway verifies the PIN with the card issuer. If the terminal is running transactions offline, the terminal verifies the PIN with the chip on the card.

Signature verification

A terminal prompts a cardholder to enter their PIN if the card is:
  • Chip and PIN
  • Swipe and PIN
  • Contactless and the card has reached the contactless CVM limit
    If the terminal is connected to our gateway, our gateway verifies the PIN with the card issuer. If the terminal is running transactions offline, the terminal verifies the PIN with the chip on the card.
Note: The major card brands such as VISA, Mastercard, and American Express don’t require a signature to complete a transaction. However, a merchant can require signatures for their own records.

AVS

During an e-Commerce transaction or a mail-order or telephone-order (MOTO) transaction, the merchant can ask the cardholder for their billing address. If the cardholder provides an address that matches the address that the cardholder has provided to their issuing bank, the transaction passes the AVS check. If the transaction does not pass the AVS check, the merchant can choose whether to accept or to decline the transaction.

CVV

During an e-Commerce transaction or a MOTO transaction, the merchant should request the CVV of the card. The CVV is a three-digit code or a four-digit code on the card. If the CVV is correct, the issuing bank approves the transaction. If the CVV is incorrect, the issuing bank declines the transaction.

3-D Secure

Issuing banks use 3-D Secure to help prevent fraud in e-commerce payments. For more information about 3-D Secure, go to 3-D Secure.