The Address Verification Service (AVS) is a fraud prevention system that, when used effectively, can help limit fraud and chargeback (reversal presentment) transactions.
AVS works by verifying that the address entered by the customer is associated with the cardholder's credit card account. AVS is a Mastercard service designed to stop fraud in card-not-present (CNP) e-commerce transactions where the card is not physically used; however, it is widely used by many major card companies.
Now let's look at the AVS codes used by each scheme:
| AVS code | Scheme(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| A | AMEX, Mastercard, Visa | Street address matches, postal code does not match. |
| B | Visa | Street address matches. Postal code not verified (incorrect format). |
| C | Visa | Street address and postal code not verified (incorrect format). |
| D | Visa | Street address and postal code match. |
| F | Visa | Street address and postal code match. Applies to cards issued in the United Kingdom. |
| G | Visa | Not verified or not supported. |
| I | Visa | Street address and postal code not verified. |
| M | Visa | Street address and postal code match. |
| N | AMEX, Mastercard, Visa | Street address and postal code do not match. |
| P | Visa | Postal code matches. Street address not verified (incorrect format). |
| R | AMEX, Mastercard, Visa | Service unavailable. |
| S | AMEX, Mastercard | Not supported. |
| U | AMEX, Mastercard, Visa | Address not verified due to lack of issuer support or a system malfunction. |
| W | Mastercard | Postal code matches, street address does not match. |
| X | Mastercard | Postal code and address match. |
| Y | AMEX, Mastercard, Visa | Cardholder's street address and postal code match. |
| Z | AMEX, Mastercard, Visa | Postal code matches. |
| AE1 | AMEX | Cardholder name is incorrect but postal code matches. |
| AE2 | AMEX | Cardholder name is incorrect, but street and postal code match. |
| AE3 | AMEX | Cardholder name is incorrect, but street matches. |
| AE4 | AMEX | Cardholder name matches. |
| AE5 | AMEX | Cardholder name and postal code match. |
| AE6 | AMEX | Cardholder name, street and postal code match. |
| AE7 | AMEX | Cardholder name and street match. |
| AE8 | AMEX | Cardholder name, street and postal code do not match. |
