Address Verification - Improving Data Accuracy and Reducing Costs

The quality of address data is a critical component to business processes such as shipping, billing and fraud prevention. Inaccurate addresses can cost companies millions of dollars each year, and they can also damage customer relationships, reduce efficiency and impact profitability. Address verification is an effective solution to improve data accuracy and reduce costs while improving customer satisfaction.

There are a variety of reasons why an address may be marked invalid, including misspelled names, misinterpreted or reversed numbers and inaccurate street directionals. These errors can be corrected with an advanced third-party tool that parses and standardizes address formatting, and it can cross-reference the standardized format with authoritative database records.

Verifying an address can be done in many ways, from a simple pop-up that confirms the customer’s input when they submit an order to a more thorough KYC or KYB check, which could include verifying additional documents such as pay stubs and utility bills. The process can also be used to identify red flags such as someone claiming to live at a middle school, which may indicate fraudulent activity, or to help ensure that services are only available within a certain geographical area.

For businesses with global expansion plans, address verification is essential to ensure that orders reach their destination. This can be done by confirming whether the address is in an area that can be served by postal workers, or by standardizing international addresses and checking them against authoritative databases. In addition, reducing the amount of mail that is returned to senders or destroyed during transportation has a positive environmental impact.