Extra protection when shopping online, Verified by Visa

It's a free service from Visa in association with Coventry Building Society and an ever-growing list of participating online retailers. From March 2011, the next time you use your card to shop online, the retailer, if they are a participating VbV retailer, will electronically check with Coventry Building Society that the card is registered. You'll be asked to confirm some personal details to register, and then you can create your own password. The retailer checks with Coventry Building Society that the details match up with our records, and provided they do, your purchase will proceed.

When you make any further purchases online with participating retailers, you'll be asked for specified characters from your password when you enter your card details. Again, the retailer checks the password details with us, and if they're correct we give them confirmation to proceed. This adds another level of security to your online purchases.

For more information about Verified by Visa, have a look at the Visa Website.

When you make a purchase at a participating retailer and enter your card details at the end of the checkout process, VbV will generate an online receipt. This receipt gives the details of your transaction, such as the site name, date and purchase amount. If you are happy to proceed with the transaction, you then 'sign' this receipt using specified characters from your password and click 'Submit' to proceed with the transaction. Without the correct password, the transaction will not be able to complete.

It makes shopping online for our customers even more secure by adding another level of security to online transactions. You'll be asked to register when you shop online with participating retailers, although we will give you the opportunity to opt out of the service at first so you can find out more if you wish. Even if you don't regularly shop online, by registering your card for VbV you're increasing your protection against online fraud.

After we launch VbV, when you make your first purchase at a participating retailer, and 'check out', you'll be directed to a page that allows you to enter information so we can confirm your identity. This will be a mixture of details from your debit card and information that only you should know. Once you register, you can then set up a password of your choice following the on-screen instructions, and unless you forget your password, want to change it or you report your card as lost or stolen, you won't need to register again.

If you don't want to register on your first shop and want to find out more information, or you're just short of time, you will be able to 'opt out' of the process a limited number of times. However, we do advise you register as soon as you can, to make sure your card is secure when you shop online. If you 'opt out' three times, on subsequent purchases you will have to register, otherwise you won't be able to make any more online purchases with VbV registered retailers. This is to keep your card secure online.

You can register any or all of your Coventry Visa debit cards for VbV. You do not need a new card to participate in this service. If you have a Coventry Visa debit card we will register the details of your card with VbV and you will be prompted to register the card the first time you use it to shop online after we launch.

VbV protects each card, not each account, so if you want to use both cards online, you will need to go through the registration process for each card and set up a separate password for each card.

Don't worry, we'll make sure the VbV service is automatically updated with the new information. You don't have to do anything.

To make sure your details are kept safe, you'll need to re-register your new card for VbV the next time you shop online. This simply involves confirming your identity with the relevant pieces of information and then creating a new password.

Although VbV should work on most browsers, Visa recommends the following: Windows Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5, 6.0 (including 6.0 on XP SP2), 7.0 and 8.0; Windows Netscape 7.2; AOL 9; Firefox 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0; Opera 9.5; and Macintosh Safari.

There are no special pieces of hardware or software needed to set up VbV, so as long as your Internet browser meets the requirements above you can purchase online from any computer and still receive the added protection offered by VbV. However, we recommend that you do not use public computers for online shopping, such as those in internet cafes and libraries.

This is a simple security measure to ensure you are the genuine customer. This information is checked against the data we hold. When entered correctly this allows you to set up your own password. The same pieces of information will be asked for if you forget your password, to allow you to set up a new one. For further information on how we use your data, please see our Privacy Policy.

VbV can be used at thousands of participating online retailers, and more companies are joining all the time.

Yes, however the transactions will not have the added security that VbV offers you. You'll simply need to complete the checkout process as normal and you won't see the online receipt when you submit your card details.

First of all, check whether the card you're using and site you're buying from are registered with VbV. If they are, contact the retailer for help. If the retailer isn't registered for VbV, the screen won't appear and your card will be charged when you submit your order.

For added security, we will only ask you for specified characters from your password. These characters will be changed each time you make a purchase, which means that you're not entering exactly the same details every time, so unless somebody knows the whole password they won't be able to use your card to shop online. You will never be asked for your full password.

If you forget your password whilst you're shopping, simply click on the 'Forgot your password' link you see on the receipt. This will take you to another page where we verify your identity before allowing you to create a new password and complete your purchase as normal.

This message means that you have exceeded the maximum number of failed attempts to check your details, either when registering your card for the first time, when you've entered the wrong password too many times or you just wanted to change your password. This is done to make it harder for somebody other than you to use the account.

If this happens, please contact us on 0845 766 5522 so we can help. You will not be able to complete your purchase or use your card for subsequent online purchases at registered VbV retailers until you have contacted us.