As the pandemic hit the globe, all the businesses went online including the e-commerce industry. Alongside, the FTC received a quadrupled number of identity theft complaints. The loan account fraud grew to $3.4 billion as of 2019. This does not end here, the finance sector is losing, more than ever, money due to address and identity frauds.
To mitigate this menace, businesses need to employ address verification services that will restrict the criminals by identifying them. Present trends have only influenced the finance sector but the shopping trends are also transforming. Also, the automated solutions for online address verification are the hold-on-to for such industries.
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Why Do Businesses Need a Verification of Address?
The verification of address has several benefits ranging from opening an account to shopping for something online. Here is why the verification of address is important.
Regulations and Compliance
Due to frauds, economies suffer the most as businesses lose millions and in some instances, billions. By verifying addresses, industries can identify the legit customers during onboarding and also comply with the KYC/AML regulations. Here, as per the guidelines by countries’ governments, online address verification is among the basics. By doing so, companies can mitigate security threats, financial loss, data breaching, and other related risks.
Likewise, in the US, the biggest hubspot for gambling, the providers are obliged to verify the address of the player. Similarly, while opening an account in the bank or applying for a loan and insurance, customers again will have to provide their address. Businesses with help of online services can then run a digital verification test on the information and if the fetch results do not match, the customer may have to pay hefty fines. The fines can be imposed on the industry as well if they fail to onboard authentic customers.
Risk Prevention
Industries like e-commerce, finance, and lenders are the most in need of address verification. Why is it crucial to verify an address? So that the businesses will know that the customers actually are what they claim to be. For instance, Airbnb received the most complaints about fake bookings during the shutdown. This however cost the platform a big amount alongside the actual customers being struck out of the place.
Similarly, the banking sector could not escape this situation, criminals prepare forged documents and appear to open an account. If the sector leaves the address verification they might never know who the customers are or if they deserve the benefits they are applying for. However, if the industries will verify the proof of address they might save the $1.6 trillion they lose every year.
How Does the Verification of Address Work?
The process is simple and easy. Businesses can verify their customers’ addresses by simply asking them to undergo several steps.
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Upload ID and Facial Proof
Here the automated systems ask for the documents that serve as facial and identity proof. Customers stay in front of the camera with documents in hand, capture a picture and upload it to the desired box. Afterward, the systems run the verification and match the face in the uploaded image with the one in the document.
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Submit Another ID Document
To cross-check the identity and address proof, the system will ask for a secondary document. The document is confined to the residential or workplace address that is verified by the CSR. This step is used for verifying addresses.
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Fetching and Dispatching of the Results
The next step is verification. The software analyzes the data with the one in the database and presents the results in front of the customers. By API call the fetched results are dispatched to the back office.
What Do the Businesses Check During Verification of Address?
The verification of address services extracts the data on the documents. Below are the checks that platforms carry out.
- The full name of the customers.
- Is the document original or fake, does it contain the stamps?
- Whether the complete address is there on the uploaded document or not?
- The document should not be crumbled and darkened.
In the End
Online address verification is the seamless process businesses are in need of. To make sure that the deliveries reach the right person, or the legit customer opens the bank account, businesses can take assistance from online 3D in-depth services that are backed by AI technology. The process is simple and customers are guided by a step-by-step technique, firstly to enhance the customers’ experience and secondly compliance with KYC/AML regulations. For businesses, online address verification savrs time, resources, and prevents error, minimizing the risk all the way.