Introduction

Address Verification Service (AVS) compares the billing address supplied by the cardholder with the address on file at the issuing bank. Visa Acceptance Solutions (including Cybersource) relay the issuer’s AVS result in the authorization response; you decide whether—and how—to use that result when routing or decisioning transactions.

Overview

• AVS is supported only for cards issued in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
• The issuer returns an AVS code during authorization; Visa Acceptance passes that code to you in the response.
• You can apply one of two optional settings:
  • Ignore AVS—continue processing regardless of the AVS result.
  • Relaxed AVS—make selected address fields optional in the request.
• Not all processors support Ignore AVS or Relaxed AVS. Confirm capabilities with your processor before enabling either feature.

Procedure

Step 1. Decide Whether to Use Ignore AVS or Relaxed AVS

• Ignore AVS instructs Cybersource to disregard the AVS result entirely. Merchants often choose this option to avoid declines caused by minor entry errors, although it can lead to “soft declines.”
• Relaxed AVS allows you to exclude specific address elements—for example, address line 2 or postal code—from verification while still analyzing the AVS result for the remaining fields.

Step 2. Implement Ignore AVS by API (Optional)

Set the field shown for your integration method to true:

Step 3. Request Ignore AVS or Relaxed AVS at the Merchant-Account Level (Optional)

If you prefer account-level configuration—or if your processor requires it—submit a Support Case to Visa Client Services. Specify whether you need Ignore AVS, Relaxed AVS, or both.

Limitations

• AVS support is limited to U.S., Canadian, and U.K. issuers.
• Some processors do not support Ignore AVS or Relaxed AVS. Verify support before deployment.
• Enabling Ignore AVS or Relaxed AVS does not override processor-mandated field requirements.