Accurate and updated customer details are crucial for businesses present in any sector. After recording personal details such as the customer’s full name and date of birth, knowing a customer’s address is another essential piece of information. Company address verification databases require correct addresses for sending mails or delivering shipments to the intended recipients on time. 

Undelivered posts and shipments can lead to missed sales opportunities, frustrated customers, lower chances of customer loyalty, and additional costs. All of these can have a negative impact on businesses. Consider this — a single undelivered or returned mail may not pose a problem, however, having several bounced mails could prove to be detrimental to your business.

3 Steps of Online Address Verification

For the process of online businesses carry out the following steps:

1. The end-user is asked to upload a photo holding their ID document to match it against the image provided on the ID 
2. The user is required to hold a secondary ID document to validate their residential address or business address
3. The address is analyzed through a verification system. The results are displayed on the screen to the customer and sent to the back office

• Reliable Documents For Verifying the Address

Before recording the details, it is essential to obtain data from updated and acceptable documents. A list of generally acceptable documents has been compiled below:

• Government-issued ID card
• Passport 
• Bank statement 
• Utility bill 
• Envelope 
• Driver’s licence 
• Employer letter 
• CPR smart 
• Insurance agreement
• Rent agreement 
• Tax bill 

After Proof of Address (POA) has been checking for authenticity from these documents, OCR Technology helps automatically extract essential information, such as the name and date of issuance. In case the document is false, modifying, or forcing,  the AI-powering Address Verification Software immediately identifies it. 

Benefits of Having an Address Verification System

Address verification software is being utilize by many industries, ranging from Fintechs to Legal firms. A few of the major advantages of using it are list below:

1. Tackling the Threat of Cybercrime

Organizations, especially financial institutions, are always at the risk of identity theft and other cybercrimes. As a result, it puts customer security at risk which can harm the company’s reputation and survival in the long run. To verify a customer’s PII (personally identifiable information) and ensure that it is protecting from cybercriminals, companies need to take necessary precautions. One particular solution for authentication is verifying customer address during onboarding, which ensures a secure communication channel between the company and customer. Remotely verifying the address can prove to be an efficient way of safeguarding customer information against cyber threats.

2. Efficient and Convenient Customer Onboarding

Almost 83% of companies believe that there is a direct relationship between revenue growth and customer satisfaction. In order to make the customer onboarding process convenient, opting for Address Verification solution providers can substantially increase the customer experience. 

3. Better Compliance with FATF Recommendations

Tracking down cybercriminals and fake users is make possible with the helping of online address verification. This also ensures compliance with KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) as put forward by the FATF (Financial Action Task Force).

Business Address Verification In Practice 

Following is a list of different sectors which are successfully making use of Address Verification Services to prevent occurrences of  fraudulent activities:

1. E-Commerce Platforms

Businesses in the E-Commerce sector face financial losses on a regular basis due to chargeback frauds. To avoid delivering to fake addresses providing by fraudsters, Address Verification solutions can be used to add an extra layer of security. 

2. Financial Industries

By opening bank accounts using a fake address verification, scammers enable activities like money laundering and account takeover. Therefore, all financial institutions are requiring to verify customer addresses to make sure that they provide address actually exists under the customer name. 

3. Third-Party Logistics Companies

Third-party logistic companies are charging for shipping the client’s package to the respective customers, therefore making Address Validation an essential tool for the provision of up-to-the-mark service and minimal returns. A third party logistics company will store your product inventory for you for significant savings in warehouse costs.