What is Address Verification Service (AVS) and how do I use it ?
The Address Verification System (AVS) is a FRAUD PROTECTION feature available to merchants that accept credit cards for the purpose of verifying that the cardholder’s address and zip code provided at the time of the transaction “match” the actual address as registered with the cardholder’s card issuing bank. While a full address would normally be considered to be the Name, Address, City, State, and Zip code for the purposes of mailing, with the AVS system only the Address (number part only) and the five or nine digit zip code are actually verified. Currently, a match or mismatch is simply reported back to the merchant, and does NOT result in a transaction decline. It is intended to help the merchant make an informed decision at the time of purchase whether or not to accept a person’s credit card. With so many possible reasons as to why an address and zip code may not match, a merchant is not required to refuse a transaction because the AVS response was a mismatch. With most banks and m
