Address Verification Service (AVS)

A fraud prevention system that verifies the billing address provided by a customer against the address on file with their credit card issuer

Address Verification Service (AVS) is a security tool used by payment processors to compare the billing address provided during a transaction with the address on file at the card-issuing bank, helping prevent fraudulent transactions.

Key Components

  • Address matching
  • Response codes
  • Risk assessment
  • Transaction validation
  • Fraud prevention

Verification Process

  • Data collection
  • Address comparison
  • Code generation
  • Risk evaluation
  • Decision making

Response Types

  • Full match
  • Partial match
  • No match
  • System error
  • International variation

Implementation Areas

  • E-commerce
  • Card-not-present
  • Digital services
  • Subscription billing
  • Online payments

Security Benefits

  • Fraud reduction
  • Risk management
  • Customer verification
  • Transaction safety
  • Chargeback prevention

Best Practices

  • Code interpretation
  • Response handling
  • Error management
  • Policy setting
  • Staff training

AVS helps reduce fraudulent transactions in card-not-present environments.