# Card Verification

## What Is Card Verification?

Card verification is a security feature that enables you to validate a credit or debit card using its tokenized representation. This process confirms that the card is valid, active, and not subject to restrictions such as cancellation, blocking, or expiration. By verifying cards before processing payments, you can reduce transaction failures and improve the overall payment experience.

Card verification helps confirm the authenticity of the card without handling raw card data, which enhances security and compliance with PCI DSS requirements.

## How Card Verification Works

The card verification process uses a tokenized card number along with card details—such as brand, expiration date, and CVV—that match the original data provided during tokenization. When you send a verification request, the system validates the card status with the card issuer without processing an actual payment.

Importantly, card verification can be performed with a **zero-amount authorization**, meaning no funds are held or deducted from the cardholder's available credit. This provides a key benefit: secure card validation without impacting the cardholder's credit limit or balance, ensuring a seamless and non-intrusive experience.

## Use Cases

Card verification is particularly useful in the following scenarios:

- **Before storing in Vault**: Validate a card before saving it to the GetNet vault to ensure it's active and valid.
- **Pre-payment validation**: Verify card status prior to initiating a payment or subscription to reduce transaction failures.
- **Proactive fraud prevention**: Detect invalid or restricted cards early, reducing declined transactions and improving authorization rates.
- **Customer onboarding**: Validate cards during account setup or payment method registration.

## Regional Availability

For detailed information about card verification availability by country, see [Core Cards - Card Verification](/en/global-api/reference-global/core-cards#card-verification).

## How to Perform a Card Verification

To perform a card verification, you must:

1. **Tokenize the card first**: The verification request requires a tokenized card number (`number_token`), not raw card data. You must tokenize the card using the [Generate Token](https://docs.globalgetnet.com/en/products/online-payments/regional-api/swagger#tag/cards/post/dpm/cofre-gw-proxy/v1/tokens/card) endpoint before verification. For more information, see the [Create a tokenized payment](/en/global-api/sep-api/payment-guides-api/card-payments/create-a-tokenized-payment) guide.

2. **Provide matching card details**: Include card information such as brand, expiration date, and CVV that matches the original data provided during tokenization.

3. **Include required headers**: Ensure your request includes the necessary authentication headers and seller ID.

A successful verification response returns the following fields:

| Field              | Description                                                      |
| :----------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Verification ID** | A unique identifier for the verification transaction             |
| **Authorization code** | Confirmation code from the card issuer                          |
| **Transaction ID** | Reference ID for traceability and audit purposes                |

These identifiers can be logged in your systems for traceability and audit purposes.

## See also

For implementation details and request parameters, refer to the [Card verification](https://docs.globalgetnet.com/en/products/online-payments/regional-api/swagger#tag/cards/post/dpm/cofre-gw-proxy/v1/cards/verification) endpoint in the API specification. To understand how to tokenize cards before verification, see the [Create a tokenized payment](/en/global-api/sep-api/payment-guides-api/card-payments/create-a-tokenized-payment) guide.