While opting for digitalized transaction processes, people had to wait for faster transactions. When it is declined, the account holder faces a stressful situation. This is where the concept of AVS mismatch comes. No one likes being in such a position. It feels more troublesome for those who have less knowledge about rectifying these issues.
If you are transacting money through the CNP or card-not-present system, you should know about the AVS or Address Verification System. The AVS is a fraud prevention measure that enhances the security of your transactions. The problem occurs when there is an AVS mismatch during a transaction. Hence, it is necessary to know how to fix AVS mismatch for worry-free future transactions.
- What is AVS?
It is necessary to differentiate between a fraudulent purchase and a legitimate purchase in the case of online transactions. The Address Verification System (AVS) helps measure the fraudulent activities in this kind of online transaction method. AVS can be defined as a fraud prevention measure applied on the card not present transactions like phone orders or e-commerce. AVS compels the cardholder or account holder to give a full building address of the card, including address and ZIP code. In the case of trading, the AVS is the simplest method trusted by the merchants to stop fraudulent transactions in the online payment system.
- What is an AVS mismatch?
The time of transaction EVS cross-references the numeric elements of the billing address given by the account holder with the numeric portions of the billing address stored in the bank’s file. The credit card enables merchants to verify the buyer and check if he is the rightful cardholder. A mismatch occurs when the payment credentials do not match the given billing address during checkout. Because the processor can access the cardholder’s credentials, they can continue transactions, but the shipping address will change to their own. The AVS codes are needed to flag the transactions or decline them during fraudulent activities.
- How does the AVS filter work?
At the time of order placement, an AVS verification request is sent to the credit card issuer. When the customer confirms the order, the payment authorization request is also sent along with the verification request. The issuer’s system verifies the given order details, comparing them with cardholder information from their record. Then zip code or verified code is sent to the merchant. This code often varies depending on the card type. From this code, the AVS match can be understood by the merchant or cardholder. After checking the level of risk aversion and reviewing orders, the merchant decides the codes he wants to reject. The payment processor may provide a checklist to the cardholder, and these filters are broad and time-consuming. This causes late processing of orders. The implication of these rules sometimes results in costly chargebacks and loss of revenue.
- Fixing the AVS mismatch
There are some abrupt suggestions by which a merchant can manage AVS mismatch to avoid the loss of legitimate customers. The merchant should allow the payment to continue if a recurring customer is transacting. In the case of new customers, the merchant should evaluate the risks and benefits of every transaction. If the transaction is flagged, the merchant should provide an immediate reason to the customer for the processing delay ensuring remediation of the transaction. This would help to reduce the loss of customers. The merchant can opt for one of the following options if an AVS mismatch occurs.
- Take an attempt to process the transaction again.
- Disallow the payment system.
- Cancel the transaction or approve it.
For fraud management in a CNP environment, a merchant’s proactive decision can only allow legitimate transactions to happen.
- Does the AVS mismatch denote fraudulent activity on every occasion?
Receiving an AVS mismatch does not always denote fraudulent activity. Often some cards do not support AVS that means the billing address cannot verify the given information of the card. Also, an AVS match does not always denote a legitimate order because of these online fraud forums and the dark web.
The AVS filters are essential, but it is good to not run AVS to filter orders. The merchant or cardholder’s knowledge of the AVS filters is most precious to identify and manage AVS mismatch.