Card Verification Value (CVV) codes establish the identity of the cardholder, minimizing the risk of fraud.
Address Verification Service (AVS) confirms the match or partial match of your customer's billing address on record with the information entered at checkout. Depending on whether the address provided is a complete, partial, or no match, you can use this information to decide whether or not to accept the order.
The results for the cardholder’s CVV and AVS verification are given to you in your card authorization response.
You will receive one of the responses below from the issuing bank when authorizing a card.
AVS Response Codes and Descriptions
| AVS Response Codes | Short Description | Full Description |
|---|---|---|
| X | Match | The street address and 9-digit ZIP code both match. |
| Y | Match | The street address and 5-digit ZIP code both match. |
| A | Partial Match | Street address matches, but both 5-digit or 9-digit ZIP code do not match. |
| W | Partial Match | Street address does not match, but 9-digit ZIP code matches. |
| Z | Partial Match | Street address does not match, but 5-digit ZIP code matches. |
| N | No Match | Street address, 5-digit ZIP code, or 9-digit ZIP code all do not match. |
| U | System Unavailable | Address information unavailable. Returned if non-U.S address. AVS is not available or if the AVS in a U.S. bank is not functioning properly. |
| R | System Unavailable | Retry - Issuer's System Unavailable or Timed Out. |
| E | Invalid | AVS data is invalid. |
| S | Not Supported | U.S. issuing bank does not support AVS. |
| D | Match | Street Address and Postal Code match for international transaction. |
| M | Match | Street Address and Postal Code match for International transaction. |
| B | Partial Match | Street Address Match for international transaction. Postal Code not verified due to incompatible formats. |
| P | Partial Match | Postal Codes match for international transaction but street address not verified due to incompatible formats. |
| C | No Match | Street Address and Postal Code not verified for international transaction due to incompatible formats. |
| I | No Match | Address Information not verified by the International issuer. |
| G | Not Supported | Non-U.S. address. The issuer does not participate. |
CVV Response Codes and Descriptions
| CVV Response Codes | Description |
|---|---|
| M | CVV Match. |
| N | CVV No Match. |
| P | Not Processed. |
| S | Issuer indicates that CVV data should be present on the card, but the merchant has indicated data is not present on the card. |
| U | The issuer has not certified for CVV or Issuer has not provided Visa with the CVV encryption keys. |