Requiring a card security code (CSC) at checkout helps confirm the buyer actually has the physical card — but does that extra field cost real sales?
The headline statistic
The 2007 eCommerce Checkout Report from Elastic Path found retailers that didn't require CSC saw a 40% higher conversion rate than those that did — a striking number, if taken at face value.
Why that number deserves scrutiny
Real-world experience with merchants who've actually implemented CSC tells a different story: a temporary "rubber-band" drop-off lasting less than three to six months, not a permanent, dramatic loss. If a 40% conversion hit were real and durable, merchants would have abandoned CSC requirements en masse — and that mass abandonment simply hasn't happened.
The real dilemma
Skip CSC and you likely face higher discount rates and more fraud cost. Require it, and you may see a short-term dip that recovers within a couple of quarters. The data everyone cites for the dramatic version of this tradeoff is worth treating with real caution.