The Address Verification Service (AVS) is a system designed by bankcard processors to aid in the detection of suspicious credit card transaction activity. AVS matches billing address information provided by the cardholder with the cardholder’s billing address on file at the credit card issuing bank. The processing network then sends an AVS response code indicating the results of the match to the payment gateway. The AVS response code can be found in the payment gateway transaction response as well as on the Transaction Detail page. Based on your AVS rejection settings, the transaction is accepted or rejected. Transactions that are rejected will display a transaction status of Declined (AVS Mismatch) on the Transaction Detail page.
To change your AVS rejection settings:
Step 1: Click the check box next to each AVS response code for which you would like reject a transaction. You can select more than one code. Codes left deselected will not be applied to your credit card transactions.
Step 2: Click Submit. A confirmation message indicates that your settings have been successfully applied.
Transactions will be automatically processed according to your AVS rejection settings.
Note: It is possible for a card to be authorized at the card issuing bank and then decline due to your AVS settings. If this happens, your customers could mistake this authorization for a charge as the authorization reduces their available limit. However, a transaction declined for AVS will not settle and your customer will not be charged.
AVS Codes
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General AVS Responses |
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|---|---|
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B |
Address information was not submitted in the transaction information, so AVS check could not be performed |
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E |
The AVS data provided is invalid, or AVS is not allowed for the card type submitted |
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R |
AVS was unavailable at the time the transaction was processed. Retry transaction |
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G |
The credit card issuing bank is of non-U.S. origin and does not support AVS |
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U |
Address information is not available for the customer's credit card |
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S |
The U.S. card issuing bank does not support AVS |
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Address and ZIP Code Responses |
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N |
Neither the street address nor the 5-digit ZIP code matches the address and ZIP code on file for the card |
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A |
The street address matches, but the 5-digit ZIP code does not |
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Z |
The first 5 digits of the ZIP code matches, but the street address does not match |
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W |
The 9-digit ZIP code matches, but the street address does not match |
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Y |
The street address and the first 5 digits of the ZIP code match perfectly |
IMPORTANT: Please be aware that AVS is not intended for use as absolute protection against suspicious transaction activity. With many possible reasons why an address and ZIP code might not match, you should carefully consider your business’s level of risk when configuring your AVS mismatch rejection settings.
Most banks and Merchant Service Providers require merchants to use AVS in order to avoid non-qualified transaction surcharges (typically an additional 1%). If your business has a low factor of risk, or potentially paying a non-qualified discount rate will not adversely affect your business, you might consider being lenient in your application of AVS. Conversely, if you have a high frequency of suspicious transaction activity or if you are incurring abnormally high discount rate charges, AVS might be an appropriate method of protection.
The following is a table that displays the responses you should select based on which transactions you would like to approve. As a general rule, you should only select the settings from one of the instances below.
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If you would like to approve only those transactions where: |
Select Codes |
Risk Level |
|---|---|---|
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Both the full, 9-digit ZIP code and the street address match |
B, N, A, Z, W and Y |
Extremely Low |
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Both the 5-digit ZIP code and the street address match |
B, N, A and Z |
Low |
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Either the 5-digit ZIP code or the street address match |
B and N |
Medium |
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The 5-digit ZIP code matches |
B, N and A |
Medium |
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The street address matches |
B, N and Z |
Medium |
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If you would like to approve: |
Select Codes |
Risk Level |
|---|---|---|
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All transactions regardless of whether the ZIP code or street address match |
None |
High |
Please note that these settings can and should be used along with the other General AVS responses of E, R, G, U and S.
Tips for using AVS settings:
AVS response code N (neither the street address nor the ZIP code matches the address and ZIP code on file for the card) is the most fundamental AVS check. Select N to implement the most basic AVS protection from suspicious transaction activity.
If you choose not to select N, then there is no need to select the following response codes: B, E, R, G, U, and S. These codes indicate that the address could not be verified by the card issuer. If transactions are NOT being rejected when they are returned with an N response, then it is unnecessary to reject transactions that could not be verified with the issuer.
To avoid errors when accepting gift credit cards (stored-value cards with a Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express logo), you need to deselect the U response code. For this type of transaction, the customer’s billing address will most likely not be associated with the gift card, or will not exist on file at the issuing bank.
Not all banks outside the United States will return the G, U and S response codes. Therefore, this code is not absolutely effective for limiting suspicious transactions from outside of the United States.
If you want to accept International payments, you must deselect the G, U and S response codes.
The desired response code in most cases is Y (the street address and the first 5 digits of the ZIP code match perfectly). Select this response code for rejecting transactions only after very careful consideration, as legitimate matches might be rejected when Y is selected.