The ultimate data goal is to achieve a 360-degree view of your customer. This allows you to deter fraudsters, identify true customers, and determine the risk level that each customer might pose.
For a detailed overview of the current fraud challenges in South Africa, have a look at our previous article, The State of Consumer Fraud in SA
Verifying Identity in Real-time
Real-time identity verification offers a paperless method of establishing customer identities through Home Affairs as a digital service. Additionally, biometric authentication technologies like fingerprint and facial recognition open a whole new world of secure and seamless verification that merchants can utilize to establish and confirm customer identities.
Having identity records confirmed straight from Home Affairs means that the verified data retrieved is guaranteed to be 100% accurate – data that would have been subject to human error if processed manually. Accurate data allows businesses to separate bad actors from true customers.
The main benefits of using digital identity verification services are that real-time processes close the window of opportunity for fraud to take place. Confirming identity in a matter of seconds, from the source, means that fraudsters have little to no time to intercept verification processes.private healthcare services illegally.
Real-Time Bank Account Verification
Digital bank account verification allows you to reduce fraud by authenticating accounts at the point of customer acquisition. Fraudsters have become experts at providing fictitious bank account details, or banking details that belong to someone else, when taking out contracts. This results in merchants discovering the fraud when it’s too late, i.e. when the debit order transaction fails or gets disputed. Verifying bank details directly from the new customer’s bank, in real-time, confirms account validity, bank account status, and whether the account can be debited or credited.
Digital Bank Statement Reports
Retrieved directly from the customer’s bank, bank statement reports are guaranteed to be authentic and accurate, eliminating potential document forgery and fraud. They provide merchants with confirmation of the customer’s employment status as well as proof of income. Furthermore, affordability checks can be performed to determine if applicants should be categorised as low, medium, or high-risk customers.
Digital Contact Verification
Contact verification software services produce accurate verified contact information, including primary phone numbers, secondary phone numbers, email addresses, and physical addresses. Should any suspicious account activity come to light, this technology ensures that you will always be able to reach debtors.
Digital Customer Trace Reports
Through electronically generated customer trace reports, merchants are able to determine if their new customers are under debt review. If so, information regarding the customer’s debt review status, and a detailed description thereof, is provided. This includes debt review dates, as well as debt counsellor names and contact information. This protects companies from conducting business with high-risk customers that might not be able to pay their future premiums.
PEP and Watchlist Screening
Through having access to extensive online consumer data insights, including watchlists, sanctions, and appearances in adverse media, businesses can achieve a more holistic view of a consumer’s digital identity. Sophisticated PEP Verification and Watchlist Screening software ensure that consumers are vetted against all these datasets and scored according to the risk they might present as a result.
An ongoing process of monitoring a customer’s risk potential is made possible with the latter software service. Daily updates on watchlists and adverse media mentions will flag your customer should illegitimate or suspicious activities become clear.
Detect, deter and monitor
With a wealth of information provided by the latter technological business innovations, companies are able to successfully initiate fraud risk management methods to separate the wheat from the chaff. Furthermore, they are enabled to divide true customers into low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk categories for optimal continued assessment of account activities. Therefore, not only are fraudsters detected and deterred at acquisition, but the possibility of future risk can be effectively monitored.
It’s time to safeguard your business and accelerate growth by embracing these readily available technologies.