If a customer orders anything online, you need to know their address. Obviously, if they want a product sent to them then this can only happen with an address.
However, even downloadable products need an address. It’s for your records and allows you to process the payment properly.
The problem is, any address can be made up. Fraudsters will use someone else’s address to download products or a collection point and someone else’s credit card to get goods without paying for them.
That’s why companies like egon.com, offer a postal address validation tool.
Article Contents
What Is Postal Address Validation?
As the name suggests, postal address validation software checks any inputted address. In many cases, it can be used to help people complete an address.
The system verifies that the address is valid. An invalid address will be flagged for further investigation. It is likely to mean the address doesn’t exist or has never been officially registered.
Best of all, the system works instantly, allowing you to advise your customers that their address isn’t valid and you can’t proceed with the order.
How It Works
The software will break the address down into sections. This is often referred to as parsing.
In other words, it formats according to your settings. That means breaking the address into house number, street name, street type, town, postcode, etc.
The software will automatically break an address into the right format for a specific country. This is more than just organizing, it also verifies that the address has enough lines and characters to exist.
The software then compares the address given to its records. This allows it to confirm whether the address is genuine or not.
Once it has confirmed this, it can verify that the name on the order matches the name of someone registered at the given address!
This is an important step to help prevent fraud. Of course, a fraudster could use the name and address of a victim and then request the parcel be sent to a delivery address.
The system can verify the delivery address is valid and that the person named is registered with the premises.
To reduce the likelihood of fraud further you can simply set a rule that all first orders must be delivered to the cardholder’s address.
It’s worth noting that, as well as verifying the validity of the address, this type of software can also help new customers fill in their address details.
It makes suggestions based on the information they input, speeding up the process and improving the customer experience. Of course, the addresses are still verified.
The Benefits
There are numerous benefits associated with adding postal address validation to your current systems.
Improved Service
One of the biggest benefits is the improved customer service. The system can speed up the process of creating an account. This reduces customer frustration and improves the shopping experience.
Anything which helps to improve the service your customer gets makes it more likely they will commit to that important first order, and return for more.
Of course, the system also provides your customer support team with more information. This helps them offer the best possible assistance when needed.
Reduced Costs
Commercial businesses lose millions every year simply by sending goods to the wrong address. In some cases, the goods are returned and can be resent, the only cost is time and a secondary postage charge.
In other cases, your staff need to track down the parcel, get it returned, and then resend it. That involves postage costs and potentially a lot of staff time.
Postal address validation eliminates these concerns, saving you a significant amount of time and money.
Better Reputation
A side effect of offering better service is that your customer will notice. They will trust you more and this increases the likelihood of them telling others about your service. The result is your reputation will be enhanced.
This is likely to boost brand awareness and increase the number of customers visiting your business.
It works whether you’re based online or in a physical location. A reputation earned via real experiences and trust is hard to beat!
Summing Up
Postal address validation software shouldn’t be seen as an option. It’s something that will benefit every business and can make it much harder for fraudsters to operate.
You’ll find it doesn’t just save you money or increase your customer numbers. Validating addresses can be done automatically.
This includes blocking any order that doesn’t meet the criteria you have set. You’ll get a notification, allowing you to check the order and decide whether to process it or not.
In short, postal address validation systems effortlessly put you more in control of your business. What better incentive do you need to invest in a system?
