Card-Not-Present Transaction (CNP)

PCIComplianceHub · Last updated 22 September 2026

A transaction where the card is not physically read by a terminal, covering e-commerce, mail order and telephone order. Because the chip cannot be used to prove the card is genuine, CNP transactions rely on data the cardholder supplies, such as the card verification value, address verification and 3-D Secure. CNP is where card fraud concentrated after EMV adoption, and it is the channel most PCI DSS e-commerce requirements are written to address.