Most banks and merchant account providers require merchants to use the address verification service (AVS) to prevent a transaction downgrade to non-qualified. This has to do with risk. AVS was created to help detect suspicious and fraudulent activity on bank cards. Here are some key points of AVS
- AVS matches the billing information given at the point of sale (POS) to the billing information on file with the card issuing bank.
- AVS matches numerical values only. The house numbers, or zip code numbers. It cannot match street names.
- Once the transaction is submitted an AVS code will be sent from the processing network to the payment gateway.
- A declined AVS transaction will reduce the available credit on the payment card even though the transaction was declined. This can pose a problem if the card is near the limit and the merchant attempts the transaction a second time. The card may be declined because of the pre-authorization of funds on the AVS decline. Call the issuing bank to resolve this issue.
- An approval from the issuing bank with a decline from AVS will reduce the cards available balance. Customers may mistake this as an actual charge. The hold usually falls off within 3-7 days.
Here is a look at Authorize.net AVS codes
General AVS Responses |
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B | Address information was not submitted in the transaction information, so AVS check could not be performed |
E | The AVS data provided is invalid, or AVS is not allowed for the card type submitted |
R | AVS was unavailable at the time the transaction was processed. Retry transaction |
G | The credit card issuing bank is of non-U.S. origin and does not support AVS |
U | Address information is not available for the customer’s credit card |
S | The U.S. card issuing bank does not support AVS |
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 |
A | The street address matches, but the 5-digit ZIP code does not |
Z | The first 5 digits of the ZIP code matches, but the street address does not match |
W | The 9-digit ZIP code matches, but the street address does not match |
Y | The street address and the first 5 digits of the ZIP code match perfectly
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- For more information on merchant accounts and AVS visit
Filed under: Authorize.Net, AVS Address Verification Service Tagged: address verification system, authorize.net, AVS, avs codes, avs decline, bank holds on avs declines, merchant account, paymentmax