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Merchant Direct Access Service

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Visa offers merchants a service called the Merchant Direct Access Service (MDAS) which allows merchants access to address verification service (AVS) by a toll-free number, using a touch-tone phone. The service is specifically targeted to small mail order / telephone order (MO/TO) or Internet merchants for whom AVS may not be cost-effective.  Merchants using MDAS are charged on a per-transaction basis.

To use the MDAS, you need access to a touch-tone telephone and your Merchant Access Code (MAC) which you can obtain from your merchant account provider.  To request an address verification, call the MDAS toll-free number, 1-800-VISA-AVS (1-800-847-2287). An automated voice unit guides you through the process of submitting a customer’s account number and address, and gives you the results of the verification.

MDAS responses are similar to AVS, but do not include a single-letter response code.  There are currently five responses that can be obtained from the MDAS:

1. Exact Match: Street address and zip code match
2. Partial Match: Street address matches, but not zip code or zip code matches, but not street address
3. No Match: Neither the street address nor zip code matches
4. Retry Later: Card issuer system is not available at the present time
5. Global: International address; cannot be verified

This system might be useful if you need to verify the address prior to running a credit card transaction.

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