Experian launches universal ID check

Information services provider, Experian has today launched a new Universal ID Check service, to help companies tap into wider ecommerce markets.

The service uses new and existing electronic data sources that a company can use to validate the authenticity of customers, including the authenticity of names, dates of birth, addresses, banking details, passport numbers and dynamic internet protocol (IP) addresses.

And, although Experian already uses some of these data sources to deliver its existing checking services in the UK and US, the universal service will extend a wider choice of data sets to more than 20 other countries.

Jim Lound, Experian fraud and identity solutions product director said the service was designed to provide a cost-effective, hosted tool for centrally managing the regulatory and risk mitigation requirements of verifying the identities of individuals they do business with.

He added: “UK firms can also use the system, where they are currently restricted to using our existing ID check services for anti-money laundering and financial transactions. A car dealership that might want to check the identity and address of someone wanting to have a test drive could now use the universal service, for example.”

But earlier this summer, European Union (EU) consumer commissioner Meglena Kuneva said new legislation would be introduced to simplify cross-border trade and promote e-commerce growth.

“A single, simple set of core rights and obligations will make it easier for consumers and business to buy and sell across Europe,” said Kuneva in a statement at the time.

Lound told IT PRO the Experian service would also stand companies trading across borders in good stead for doing business across new borders in the face of potential EU legislative changes.

“A Turkish company may want to verify the identity of a UK person wanting to buy property abroad, for instance,” he added.

The countries covered by Universal ID Check are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and US.

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