What is a common use for AVS in transactions?

Address Verification Service (AVS) is predominantly utilized in online and card-not-present transactions, making it a critical tool for enhancing security in environments where the physical cardholder is not present to provide additional forms of verification. This service helps merchants verify the address provided by the customer against the address on file with the card issuer, reducing the risk of fraudulent transactions.

In online settings, the lack of physical card presentation makes it necessary to implement robust fraud prevention measures. AVS serves as a useful mechanism by comparing submitted billing address information during the checkout process with the information that the credit card issuer has on file, thus helping to confirm the identity of the cardholder.

While AVS can technically be involved in other areas like gift card validations or in certain automated billing scenarios, its primary application and effectiveness are found in the context of online transactions, where the oversight of card handling is absent. This makes AVS a crucial component in mitigating fraud in card-not-present situations, aligning perfectly with its specific use case.