Cardholder Verification Definition

By Phillip Parker

Last Updated: June 28, 2019

Merchant Account Cardholder Verification Explained:

What is Cardholder Verification? Cardholder verification and identification is a service provided by Visa, Mastercard, and American Express that confirms additional details about the purchaser before processing a card-not-present transaction. Cardholder verification is increasingly used in e-commerce transactions to validate the buyer’s identity and reduce the risk of chargebacks.

Visa’s cardholder verification program is called “Visa Secure”, while Mastercard’s is called “Mastercard SecureCode” and American Express’s is called “SafeKey”. In many cases, the extra verification takes the form of a single-use numeric code sent to the buyer via email or a mobile device, which the buyer then enters in order to confirm their intent to make a purchase. Cardholder verification is intended to serve a similar purpose to CVV2 codes and AVS, but it is a more streamlined process that is closer in practice to two-factor authentication.

About The Author

Phillip Parker

Phillip Parker is an independent card payment expert specializing U.S. and Canadian point-of-sale, e-commerce, and mobile payment acceptance. He has nearly two decades of experience in credit card processing as a journalist and consultant. Phillip is the creator of this website and has written over 1,500 articles covering numerous payment acceptance topics. He has also published critical reviews about most merchant services providers currently in operation.

Expert Guidance

Phillip has consulted businesses of all sizes from mom-and-pop shops processing $10K per month to enterprise level organizations processing in excess of $300MM annually. His specialties include:

– Merchant Account Statement Auditing
– Rate & Fee Negotiation
– Processor & POS Selection
– Software Integrations
– Risk Assessment
– Fraud Prevention
– General Processing Advice

Schedule a Consultation Here

Phillip’s Top Picks

Phillip has researched and reviewed over 1,000 merchant services providers over the last 15 years. He also owns multiple businesses that accept credit card payments. If you are looking for an ethical credit card processor that doesn’t hide fees or lock you into expensive contracts, see Phillip’s merchant account picks here.

In The Media

In addition his contributions on CPO, Phillip has also been quoted in several major publications such as The Los Angeles Times, INC Magazine, Miami Herald, Computer World, and numerous others. If you would like to interview Phillip for your story or podcast, please reach out here.

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