| address verification system (CRM-BF) |
An electronic check, used mainly in the United States, that enables a merchant to confirm whether a billing address, provided by a customer during a payment card transaction, matches the address the card-issuing bank has for that customer. This check helps verify that this customer is the cardholder.
The AVS check is a series of electronic messages between the merchant and the bank, and examines the first five numerals in the street address, and the ZIP Code. The merchant can decide, based on the result, whether or not to accept a card.