Transaction Types

This topic provides information about transaction types that are supported by your processor, such as card-present, card-not-present, and international transactions.

Card-Not-Present Transactions

When a customer provides a card number, but the card and the customer are not physically present at the merchant's location, the purchase is known as a
card-not-present transaction
. Typical card-not-present transactions are internet and phone transactions. Card-not-present transactions pose an additional level of risk to your business because the customer’s identification cannot be verified. You can reduce that risk by using features such as the Address Verification System (AVS) and Card Verification Numbers (CVNs). The AVS and CVNs provide additional protection from fraud by verifying the validity of the customer’s information and notifying you when discrepancies occur.

Authorizations with Card Verification Numbers

Card verification numbers (CVNs) are a required feature for the authorization service.
The CVN is printed on a payment card, and only the cardholder can access it. The CVN is used in card-not-present transactions as a verification feature. Using the CVN helps reduce the risk of fraud.
CVNs are not included in payment card track data and cannot be obtained from a card swipe, tap, or dip.
CVNs must not be stored after authorization.
In Europe, Visa mandates that you not include a CVN for mail-order transactions and not record a CVN on any physical format such as a mail-order form.

CVN Locations and Terminology

For most cards, the CVN is a three-digit number printed on the back of the card, to the right of the signature field.
For American Express, the CVN is a four-digit number printed on the front of the card above the card number.

Figure:

CVN Locations
Image depicting the location of the CVN on the back of most cards and the front of an American Express card.
Each payment card company has its own name for the CVN value:
  • American Express and Discover call it the
    Card Identification Number
     (CID).
  • JCB calls it the
    Card Authentication Value
     (CAV2).
  • Mastercard calls it the
    Card Validation Code
     (CVC2).
  • Visa calls it the
    Card Verification Value
     (CVV2).

International Transactions

Consider compliance and merchant remittance funding when processing international transactions.

Compliance

Accepting payments from a country other than your own requires that you observe the processing rules and practices of the payment systems in that country. The following list describes areas of compliance that are especially important.
  • Merchant descriptor requirements—A merchant descriptor communicates merchant information to customers to remind them of the circumstances that triggered a payment. Merchant descriptors reduce the possibility of a chargeback. Accordingly, the merchant descriptor displayed on a customer’s statement should be a close match to the name on your website. It is not good practice to consolidate multiple websites into a single merchant account and use a generic descriptor that more-or-less covers all offerings.
  • Excessive chargebacks—To prevent an excessive number of chargebacks, you must maintain good customer support, rapid problem resolution, a high level of customer satisfaction, and transaction management processes that minimize fraudulent transactions. When payment card chargebacks become excessive, you must change business processes to reduce chargebacks. If chargebacks are not reduced to a satisfactory level, your account can be terminated.

Merchant Remittance Funding

You can request that the transaction proceeds be converted to another currency. Currency conversion uses a foreign exchange rate to calculate the conversion to the requested currency. The foreign exchange rate might be explicitly stated as a rate or implicitly stated as a transaction amount. The funded amount and can vary from day to day. The foreign exchange rate might also include an increase for the foreign exchange risk, sales commissions, and handling costs.