Each Visa credit and debit card has a set of unique design features and security elements developed to help merchants verify the card’s validity. By knowing what to look for in a legitimate Visa payment card, your sales staff can avoid inadvertently accepting a counterfeit card or processing a fraudulent payment transaction.
You need to train your sales associates to examine the card’s basic features and security elements after they swipe, insert, or wave the card and while waiting for the transaction authorization. Checking a credit or debit card’s features and security elements takes seconds, while helping to ensure that the card is valid and has not been altered in any way.
What to Look For in a Visa Card
Visa Card Security Features
*In certain markets, CVV2 is required to be present for all card-not-present transactions. Additionally, U.S. merchants who work in the card-present sales environment may include (CVV2) in the authorization request for U.S. domestic key-entered transactions instead of taking a manual card imprint.
Unembossed Visa Card Acceptance
The unembossed Visa payment card (that is, a prepaid card) may look and feel different, but it is still a valid card, which can be accepted by any Visa merchant equipped with an electronic terminal. Unlike the embossed Visa credit or debit card, which has raised numbers, letters, and symbols, the unembossed payment card has a smooth, flat surface.
From a merchant’s point of view, the processing of an unembossed card at the point-of-sale should be a seamless transaction. There is no need for any new software, special hardware, or modified terminal procedures. All you need to do is simply to swipe, insert, or wave the unembossed card just as you would do with an embossed card and then wait for an authorization approval and obtain the cardholder’s signature.
Because the unembossed card has a flat surface, it cannot be used for transactions which require a manual card imprint. The merchant should not attempt to hand-write payment receipts or key-enter the account number for unembossed cards.
What to Do When Something Doesn’t Look Right
If any of the Visa payment card security features seem to be missing or appear altered, adhere to your merchant store procedures and respond accordingly.
Image source: Wikipedia.