How an AVS check works
The merchant collects the billing address, and its gateway sends the postal code, and often the street address, inside the authorisation request or an account verification request. The issuer compares them with its records and answers with a code: full match, postal code only, street only, no match, or not supported.
The code arrives beside the approval or decline. The merchant's own rules then decide whether to capture, review or cancel the payment.
Where AVS is supported
In the Visa Core Rules of 18 April 2026, issuers in Visa's Europe, US and Canada regions, and in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, have had to take part in AVS since 1 October 2025. They verify the postal code, may also verify the street address, and return a result code.
The same rules require acquirers in the Europe and US regions to be able to send AVS data and receive the response, for themselves and their merchants. From 25 July 2026 the address sent must be genuine data that the merchant obtained from the cardholder.
Why AVS matters to a merchant or gateway
AVS costs the customer only a typed address, so it sits beside the card security code and 3-D Secure as a low-friction check. It is weak alone: a fraudster holding full stolen card data knows the address, and honest customers mistype or move.
A gateway normally passes the AVS code to the merchant's fraud rules and stores it, since a match can later support the merchant's side of a fraud dispute.
Where the address verification service shows up in a platform
Modules that do the work
- CheckoutA hosted checkout for cards, wallets, bank payments and crypto, routed to the best provider.
- Fraud & riskReal-time fraud scoring, limits and case management, with the risk engines you already trust.
- Card acquiringCard acceptance on the phone, in store and online, through the acquirer you choose.
Platforms that need it
Where it is written
The laws and standards this page's facts come from.
General information, not legal advice: what applies to you depends on your services and your market.