Address Verification Service (AVS)

Definition

Address Verification Service (AVS) compares parts of the billing address supplied with a card payment against the issuing bank’s records. The issuer returns a response that can indicate a match, a partial match, a mismatch or that verification was unavailable.

What AVS can and cannot tell you

AVS supplies one fraud-screening signal. It does not prove the buyer’s identity or guarantee that a payment is legitimate. Issuer support and response codes vary, including across countries.

A gateway can apply rules to the response, so issuer authorization and the merchant’s AVS acceptance decision are different. Review the actual response and supported settings alongside other controls rather than assuming every mismatch is fraud or every match is safe.

Related payment guidance

Continue with review gateway fraud-screening workflows, or return to the payments glossary.

Reference: Authorize.net documentation.