AVS - exactly what part of the billing address is verified?

[jonjon29]

Hello,

Our system integrates via CIM, and our current production AVS settings are such that CC authorization will be declined if there is a zip code or billing address mismatch (i.e. the strictest settings you can use for the filter).

Our customer service folks have been running into numerous complaints by our customers that they keep getting declined due to billing address mismatches.  When our customer service folks investigated the issue with Authorize.net, they stated that, according to Authorize.net, that the entire billing address is validated, including apartment numbers (i.e. the string 'Apt #' is actually being entered onto the form by our customers).

I was of the understanding (reading from some posts in this forum) and in the AVS settings page, that ONLY the first numeric digits of the billing address is used for validation.  Is this in fact true?  Our results and claims from our customer service team seem to indicated otherwise.  I would like to know what the definitive answer is because we are now contemplating on removing the billing address validation in AVS to alleviate these customer service issues (although this is not a preferred solution due to the lack of validation).  Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

[Michelle · Accepted solution]

Hi there,

When using AVS, only numerical data like the street number and zip code are verified with the issuing bank. Sometimes though, depending on the processor, apt numbers are verified too, but that is not part of the standard AVS check, which is usually just street number and zip.

Hope that helps.

Thanks,

Michelle

Developer Community Manager

[jrhalli]

We're having a similar issue.

If a bill-to address is a "dual" address - i.e., has a physical street address and PO Box, for example:

485 Grant Avenue

PO Box 1234

44143

To approve, does AVS need one or the other, or both, and does the order matter?

possible bill-to address strings:

485 Grant Avenue

PO Box 1234

485 Grant Avenue PO Box 1234

PO Box 1234 485 Grant Avenue (this option does not seem to work)

Thank you.

[Trevor]

Which address is required is completely dependant upon how the card is registered at the customer's bank. If the customer doesn't know which address to enter, the best thing to do is refer them to their bank to find out.