Retailers that sell age-restricted goods are required by law to verify the age of their customers to meet federal regulations, protect their reputations, and protect underage individuals within the communities they serve. Although online age verification is necessary for all these reasons, it can be challenging to do so effectively, especially for online retailers.
Common challenges of online age verification
Unfortunately, in recent years, underage customers have gained broader access to age-restricted goods due to increased availability online. Many people use their phones, tablets, and other devices to make purchases now, instead of physically going into a brick-and-mortar store to purchase items in person. As a result, underage individuals can hide behind a screen and gain access to age-restricted products like alcohol, tobacco, video games, or other content.
Additionally, with increased access and demand for online goods, companies also face an increased risk of online fraud. As it stands, current online age-verification techniques are severely lacking and need a lot of improvement to prevent illegal purchases. In many cases, the current age verification strategies are not even restricting the purchasing power of underage customers. Buying restricted products is often too simple for resourceful underage teens with easy access to a credit card or retailer-issued gift card.
Benefits of SaaS-based age verification
Without the necessary tools to adhere to legally-required age-verification processes, companies will face legal and financial repercussions that could hurt their bottom line and their reputation with existing customers. That’s where age verification tools come into play.
SaaS-based age verification software is a type of online age verification tool that software companies offer on a subscription basis and host centrally. This type of software helps companies ensure customers are who they say they are in real life. In addition to preventing identity fraud, SaaS-based age verification software also helps organizations comply with anti-fraud regulations to avoid costly fines and problematic legal issues. It can also be easily customized and integrated into a currently existing customer onboarding process to meet the unique needs of various businesses.
Various teams across an organization can use age verification software to confirm individuals’ identities, such as HR teams, legal departments, or sales representatives. If your organization is not currently using age-verification software, making an investment in this type of software will help you prevent fraud, reduce risk, and keep your product from getting into the hands of underage customers.
Author Resource:-
Emily Clarke writes about identity verification and business verification service. You can find her thoughts at online id verification blog.
