Credit Card Part IV - What do CVV, CVV2, and CSC stand for?

By Zaheer Shaikh

What do CVV, CVV2, and CSC stand for?

When shopping online or making phone transactions, you'll often be asked for your credit or debit card's card security code. These codes, known as CVV, CVV2, or CSC, add an extra layer of protection to ensure that only the cardholder can make a transaction.

The most generic term for the security code on a credit or debit card is the Card Security Code (CSC). While the name varies depending on the card network, the purpose remains the same: to protect cardholders from fraud by verifying that the person making the transaction has physical possession of the card. Different card networks use different names for this code:

  • Visa calls it CVV (Card Verification Value), a 3-digit security code.
  • MasterCard refers to it as CVV2 (Card Verification Value 2), also a 3-digit code.
  • American Express uses the term CSC (Card Security Code), which is a 4-digit code.
Card Network Term Used Digit Accepted
Visa CVV (Card Verification Value) 3
MasterCard CVV2 (Card Verification Value 2) 3
American Express CSC (Card Security Code) 4
JCB CAV (Card Authentication Value) 3
Discover CVD (Card Verification Data) 3
RuPay CVV2 (Card Verification Value 2) 3

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