What is 2+2 Verification & Why is it Important?

Multiple matching sources can help assure that potential customers are probably legitimate, and not part of a scam or international terrorist group. This can be considered “2+2” identity checking, which could entail as many as four separate means of verifying who a person really is. Rather than checking against one credit file, a business could check multiple sources to assure that name, address, and date of birth (for example) match on at least two or more additional sources.

Why is 2+2 verification important?

Fraud is a danger in any business transaction, but is particularly crucial in the financial services industry. Verifying customer identity is central to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act). The act’s rules specifically note that name and residential address should be verified using reliable electronic data from at least two separate sources, backed up by date-of-birth verification from one data source, and proof that the customer has a transaction history of at least three years from other sources—thus, “2+2.”

Other companies that take orders, provide refunds, or replace any item on request—especially online—must have in place a rigorous way to check a person’s real, authentic identity. And of course, proper identification is important in acquiring and using a credit card.

Identities also can get mixed up through simple everyday carelessness, either by the customer herself or by data entry personnel. Consider:

BETH SMITHE
123 ORANJE ST.
NEWARE, NJ

… who is on record as validly purchasing a number of items under that name and misspelled address. This can be changed automatically to::

ELIZABETH SMITH
123 ORANGE STREET
NEWARK, NJ

… whose name is on a mortgage deed and light bill. Melissa’s MatchUp uses advanced “fuzzy matching” algorithms and deep domain knowledge of contact data to identify duplicates like this.

What sources might 2+2 use?

There are various types of issued credit, as well as records maintained by the government, telecommunications records, property records, utility bills, and so forth. A vast array of information is available to companies in today’s electronic-data world, literally at their fingertips. Melissa technology can unearth it, and verify identities with 2+2 verification.

Why choose Melissa for your 2+2 verification?

In addition to MatchUp, Melissa’s Personator Consumer verifies names, postal and email addresses, and phone numbers in real-time as soon at these are entered into a company’s database. It’s capable of validating a name and match it to a valid address—employing two good sources—for a simple and quick identify verification. It can also update the addresses of U.S. and Canadian customers who have moved for multi-record validation, an important consideration in case a new address doesn’t match what’s on record elsewhere.

Through other Melissa products, you can match a new customer with all the social platforms they use, matched to specific email addresses. Besides offering a marketing opportunity to companies, this provides more electronic data sources for your “2+2” identify verification processes. In short, “2+2” multiple-sourced identify verification can save you time, money, fines from regulators, and lawsuits.