AVS (Address Verification System)
A fraud prevention service that checks a cardholder's billing address against the card issuer's records, reducing downgrade risk on keyed and card-not-present transactions.
AVS compares the billing address (and sometimes zip code) provided at checkout against the address the card issuer has on file. The result is returned as a match code: full match, zip match only, no match, or unavailable.
AVS does not block transactions; it is a data point for fraud scoring. Merchants can configure their systems to decline on certain AVS responses, but most pass the transaction and use the response for chargeback defense and risk scoring.
For interchange purposes, using AVS on keyed-entry and card-not-present transactions is required to qualify for the best available interchange categories. Transactions without AVS on a MOTO or e-commerce merchant downgrade to higher-cost categories.
AVS is most useful for card-not-present fraud prevention when combined with CVV2 verification and, for higher-risk transactions, 3D Secure authentication.
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