A card security code is a series of numbers that, in addition to the bank card number, is printed on a credit or debit card. The CSC is used as a security feature for card-not-present transactions, where a personal identification number (PIN) cannot be manually entered by the cardholder. It was instituted to reduce the incidence of credit card fraud. Unlike the card number, the CSC is deliberately not embossed, so that it is not read when using a mechanical credit card imprinter which will only pick up embossed numbers.