An important new security feature for card-not-present transactions now appears on the back of most credit cards. This new feature is a three-digit value which provides a cryptographic check of the information embossed on the card.

CVV2's Location:
The CVV2 three-digit value for Visa/MasterCard, and Discover, is printed on the signature panel on the back of credit cards immediately following the card account number.

The CVV2 value helps validate two things:
The customer has their credit card in his/her possession.
The card account is legitimate.

CVV2 is not contained in the magnetic stripe information, nor does it appear on sales receipts.