A lot of credit card holders still don`t know how the payments are going, where bills are issued, and why it is very important to know about it. In this article you will find answers to questions about what is the billing address used for, how to change it or check it, and how to use it to protect yourself from fraud.
Definition of the billing address
Billing address is an address which associated with a payment method. All documents and statements related to payments are sent to this address, and it is used by issuers to verify personal data and identify the cardholder.
Typically, the billing address coincides with the shipping address to which the parcels are sent. But sometimes, when you change your place of residence, the payment address remains the same. In this case, the company can request additional verification to confirm the order.
Several ways to change the address
To avoid unpleasant situations with the delivery of orders, you need to know everything about changing your billing address. There are several ways to do it.
- Online
All you need to do is visit the website of the issuing bank of your card and edit the address in your account. It will take only a few minutes to do it, that’s why it is the most popular way to do it.
- Support
Another option – you can call the number listed on the website and talk to the bank representative about changing your billing address.
- Offline
Finally, you can always change it offline in person. To do this, you need to visit a bank and its representative will help you to change the address.
Steps of checking your address
If you need to make sure your address is correct, there are several ways to check it out.
- First of all, if you periodically receive bank statements, then the billing address is correct. This applies to both paper and electronic statements.
- You can also see your current address in your private account on bank`s website. And also change it here if necessary, as mentioned above.
- If nothing helps, you should contact a support. Sometimes you can find out the information through the voice machine, and sometimes by talking to a representative of the bank.
Billing address and AVS
VISA, MasterCard and other card networks have very special option that help to fight online shopping frauds. It’s called an address verification system (AVS). This system will check the match in the address and zip code digits in address provided to the seller and address that registered in the bank.