AVS is a critical tool when checking the validity of mail order, online or telephone transactions using a Visa card as payment. AVS verifies a cardholder's billing address information in real-time and provides you with a results code separate from the authorization response code, allowing you to make an informed transaction "risk assessment" decision on whether to continue with the transaction.

• AVS helps ensure that the person making the purchase with their Visa card is the same person who receives the Visa card's monthly statement.
• By matching the billing address on file with the Visa card issuer against the billing address provided by the customer, merchants and issuers work together to help ensure that lost or stolen Visa cards are not being used in card-not-present environments to purchase goods or services.
• Armed with this information merchants can make the decision to complete or stop a particular transaction.
• Unless the correct billing address is provided to the online, mail or telephone merchant during check-out, the transaction will not be completed which may stop a fraudulent purchase from being made.