Address Verification (AVS) Errors
If you have a merchant account, you may find that some transactions are declined due to "AVS Errors." AVS stands for Address Verification System. AVS is used to verify the street address and zip code for a particular transaction against the cardholder's actual street address and zip code that is on file with the card issuing bank. AVS is used as a way to combat fraud.
If a transaction is declined due to an AVS error, the most common reasons are:
- A street address and/or zip code was not provided when processing the transaction.
- The street address provided was incorrect.
- The zip code provided was incorrect.
In many cases, merchants pay higher rates when AVS information is not provided. Therefore, it's always a good idea to include street addresses and zip codes when processing a transactions through a merchant account.
If you're using installment batches, be sure to enter the street address and zip code when adding or updating a payment profile.
Things to note
- The cardholder's bank (i.e., the bank that issued your customer's credit or debit card) decides whether there is an AVS error. In other words, we at Main Street Sites don't decide. Gateways like NMI don't decide. It's the cardholder's own bank that decides whether the address and zip code are correct.
- Sometimes customers receive multiple AVS errors, often after trying multiple combinations of addresses and zip codes. If nothing seems to work, their best bet is to call the card issuer so that they can confirm the information the issuer has on file (or so that the issuer can correct the information on file).