Address verification service: Difference between revisions

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An '''address verification service''' ('''AVS''') is a service provided by major credit card processors to enable merchants to [[Credit card hijacking|authenticate ownership of a credit or debit card]] used by a customer.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Address Verification System (AVS) |url=http://virtualtrak.blogspot.com/2007/03/address-verification-system-avs.html |publisher=VirtualTrak technologies|accessdateaccess-date=September 7, 2011}}</ref> AVS is done as part of the merchant's request for authorization in a non-face-to-face credit card transaction. The credit card company or issuing bank automatically checks the billing address provided by the customer to the merchant against the billing address in its records, and reports back to the merchant who has the ultimate responsibility to determine whether or not to go ahead with a transaction. AVS can be used in addition to other security features of a credit card, such as the [[Card Security Code|CVV2]] number. Some countries, such as [[Denmark]], do not permit banks to verify customer data.

AVS is not available by all credit card providers, and not in all countries. It is generally not available for foreign credit cards; that is, cards issued in a country other than where it is being used. AVS is available in a number of countries, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Though the checks can vary between card companies, AVS typically verifies only the numeric portions of a cardholder's billing address, resulting in certain anomalies like apartment numbers, which can cause false declines. However, this is reported to be a rare occurrence.{{cn|date=September 2020}} For example, if the address is 101 Main Street, Highland, CA 92346, in the United States, AVS will check ''101'' and ''92346''. Cardholders may receive false negatives, or partial declines for AVS from [[Electronic commerce|e-commerce]] verification systems, which may require manual overrides, voice authorization, or reprogramming of the AVS entries by the card issuing bank. Credit card AVS does not determine deliverability of an address.

==AVS support==

AVS is a service to combat fraudulent activity for non-face-to-face transactions by cross-referencing the address provided by a cardholder to a merchant with the card issuer's records.<ref>{{cite web|title=Glossary A, AVS|url=http://www.elect-mer.com/glossary-a.html|publisher=Electronic Merchant Systems|accessdateaccess-date=April 27, 2011}}</ref> AVS is offered by [[Visa Inc.|Visa]], [[MasterCard]] and [[American Express]] in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. It is also offered by [[Discover Card|Discover]].

Cardholders with a bank that does not support AVS may receive an error from online stores due to the lack of verification.