What can a merchant, who accepts online, phone, or mail transactions, do to as a means of security protection to prevent themselves from falling victims to accepting stolen credit cards or fake credit card numbers? Merchants can help secure payment gateways by using the Address Verification System (AVS).

The Address Verification System was originally used in the case of in person purchases where merchants could verify cards because they had embedded holograms or on-card photo ids. However, this does not help with online, phone, or mail transactions. But, AVS can provide secure payment gateways by having the merchant verify credit card data, such as billing address and zip code, against the Visa®/Mastercard billing information of the cardholder. This layer of security protection allows merchants to further investigate a transaction if the billing information provided by the Address Verification System does not match that the customer provides.

It benefits the merchant to use the Address Verification System because they are fully liable for all transactions they take that are performed without the person being in front of them. So if they accept a fraudulent transaction, they experience what is known as a chargeback. A chargeback refunds the customer from the merchant’s bank account. In addition, the merchant must pay a fine to the bank and credit card associations penalize them.

By using the Address Verification System, a merchant can protect both the customer and himself from counterfeit charges. To learn more about the AVS, please visit Address Verification System.

Keywords: address verification system, address verification, chargeback, merchants, payment gateways

Labels: address verification, address verification system, chargeback, merchants, payment gateways