Today’s consumer expects the application process for new accounts, products or services to be quick and easy. Whether applying in-person at a store, over the phone or online with their laptops and mobile devices, they expect an effortless and seamless omnichannel experience.
However, delivering a simple, smooth and safe experience to meet these ever-increasing consumer demands can be challenging. While businesses are looking to make the most of the new account enrollments, it’s important that they are able to do so without incurring additional risk or compromising security.
To create a positive experience that will in turn help drive higher conversion rates, businesses need to streamline the ways they capture consumer data. This becomes even more crucial as consumers increasingly turn to their mobile devices to interact with businesses. Asking consumers to thumb-type all their personal information on small screens is a deal killer. It is a painful and cumbersome process that leads frustrated consumers to abandon the effort completely, resulting in lost revenue for businesses.
One way to overcome this is to ask consumers for as little information as possible to verify identities. Instead of requiring consumers to provide full identity information, businesses only need to ask for their name and last four digits of their Social Security number (SSN) to sign up new customers.
Let’s see how this would work in the real world. Ellen Smart, a millennial, receives a pop-up ad on her mobile phone offering her an enticing deal on a new data plan from a wireless carrier. This deal is so good that Ellen wants to sign up right away. She taps on the “Apply Now” button and is taken to a landing page where she is asked to provide her name and the last four digits of her SSN. Instantly, the remaining application fields are automatically completed with the rest of her personal information. She confirms the information and taps the “send” button to complete enrollment. The process is fast and simple, and Ellen leaves with a great impression of the carrier.
Another option for businesses to efficiently capture data is to use their tablet to take a picture of the consumer’s driver’s license or passport to extract their personal information. This also allows the business to verify the authenticity of the identification to control fraud.
Let’s take another look at a real-world scenario. John Black, a middle-aged consumer, enters a wireless retail store to take advantage of a new smartphone offer. After speaking with a sales rep, he is ready to complete his application. The sales rep takes a photo of the front and back of John’s driver’s license using his tablet. The personal information is extracted from the license and a new account enrollment form is automatically populated. John confirms the information and the application is submitted. With new phone in hand, he walks out of the store pleased with the quick, easy in-store enrollment experience.
In both scenarios, behind the scenes fraud risk assessment technologies available today are quickly identifying the consumers, verifying that they are who they say they are, and approving or rejecting their applications in seconds – enabling businesses to balance speed and security with new enrollments.
Consumers often form their first impressions of a business based on the speed and simplicity of the enrollment process. By making it easier to enter information online, businesses create a consumer-friendly experience that better aligns click through and conversation rates and brings in more new customers.
Aaron Kline is vice president of innovation and new ventures at ID Analytics.
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