Introducing Address Verification Service

We're excited to announce Paystack's integration to the Address Verification Service (AVS) — an authentication system which makes it possible for a lot more international customers to pay you.

Before now, our primary method of authentication was through 3DS — a security system which ensures that payment cards aren't used online without the consent of the card owner. 3DS works well for most local payment cards and some international cards, but many international cards are not enrolled for 3DS.

With the integration to AVS, our success rates for international transactions have improved by 150%, and you can now get paid by more customers in the USA, UK, and Canada.

How does AVS work?

When a customer attempts a payment on Paystack, we verify that the payment is authorised by the customer, and not someone pretending to be them. This helps us to protect the customer from theft, and protect your business from chargeback claims.

In some parts of the world where it's less usual for cards to be enrolled for 3DS - specifically the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Canada - we now use the Address Verification Service (also known as the Address Verification System) to authenticate each transaction.

Here's a quick breakdown of how AVS works:

• A customer paying with an international card enters their card number, card expiry date, and CVV
• Next, they enter their street address, ZIP code, state, and city
• We then automatically compare the billing address they provide with what their card issuer has on file
• If there's a match, the transaction is authorised, and you receive the payment

How does this help your business?

When you sell online, you want to accept payments from customers all over the world. Our new integration with the global Address Verification Service helps you do just that by ensuring that more customers from the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Canada can pay you successfully.

Common Questions

Is AVS enabled for my business?

AVS is currently enabled for Paystack merchants in Nigeria, but we aim to make it available to merchants in Ghana as soon as possible.

All Nigerian merchants who are enabled for international payments are automatically enabled for AVS, with the exception of a small handful of relatively high-risk business categories such as betting. See this Help Center article for full details of these restrictions.

Is AVS enabled for all international customers?

AVS is enabled for cards issued in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

There are about three additional countries in the world which support AVS authorisation, but the AVS technology is not as robustly rolled out in those countries, so we decided to err on the side of a robust integration and provide AVS authorization for those countries where AVS works reliably. Happily, we find that the vast majority of international transactions come from the US, UK, and Canada, so you're very well covered. As AVS matures and works reliably for cards issued in more countries, we will be sure to enable it for Paystack merchants.

Can customers outside the USA, UK, and Canada pay me?

Yes, if you're enabled for international payments on Paystack, customers from anywhere in the world can pay you, not only those from the USA, UK, and Canada. Our AVS integration only improves success rates from those countries specifically. Learn more about collecting international payments with Paystack.

In Summary

One of our big promises to you has always been that we'll help you accept payments from anyone, anywhere in the world. With the new integration to the Address Verification Service, we're excited about opening up your business to more customers from more parts of the world.

If you have any question at all about AVS, kindly reach out to us here. We're happy to help ❤️