The gateway is equipped with the ability to provide an address verification service (AVS). This means that if you decide to submit a client’s address with your payment information, the gateway is able to enquire with the client’s issuing bank if the address supplied to you matches the cardholder information stored at the bank. AVS address checks are extremely helpful in the retail industry as they protect merchants from sending goods to an address which could potentially be at risk. If you’re sending your products to the address which the debit or credit card is actually registered to, an element of risk has already been overcome.

Once the gateway has completed and AVS check, it will provide the following results:

* Full match – The card holder’s street address and postcode match the information provided to you by the client.
* Partial match – Either the street or the postcode has matched the information held at the bank, but not both pieces of the address. This isn’t uncommon as there are many formats addresses can take; problems usually arise when the first line of the address consists of flat numbers within a building which also has a number.
* No match – None of the address details provided to you as a merchant match the records stored by the client’s issuing bank.

As the merchant, it’s entirely up to you how you decide to interpret the AVS security check and handle the transaction from that point. You may wish to adjust the AVS settings to accept all results, just full matches, or both full and partial matches to suit your needs.

Whatever level of AVS code checking you require, your gateway can be configured to suit your needs. Our technical team are on hand to talk you through the procedure, so you can be assured that the security of your ecommerce business is in safe hands.

If you’d like to find out more about our AVS UK and international services please get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.