Why is Customer Age Validation Essential for the Financial Sector?

‘You must be 18+ to enter this site. Check the box to confirm.” Most of us have come across this message at one point or another, and very rarely do people actually take it seriously. In fact, when this message pops up, it creates an increased sense of curiosity at the contents of the website or any other digital platform, making it quite an ineffective way to limit access to age-restricted content, especially for the financial sector. That is why you need more rigorous measures of age validation.

Here are some reasons why Customer Age Validation tools have become essential for the smooth running of Australia’s financial sector.

Ensures Payment Card Authentication

Children nowadays are nothing short of exceptionally tech-savvy. They can easily bypass any self-check measure and conduct payment card authentication on their own. Since minors can’t make financial transactions on their own, they often use their parents’ cards without consent. This can be quite a dangerous activity since young children aren’t mature enough to differentiate between authentic sites and fraudulent ones.

This often results in children handing over personal information and banking details to potential fraudsters, allowing them to steal identities, make payments and take part in other illegal activities. Having a customer age verification system is your best line of defence against such problems.

Ensures Financial Compliance

Compliance costs are currently on the rise in Australia. They are creating quite a significant burden on the financial sector as maintaining KYC in Australia includes global spending of over $500 million for some financial institutions. It has led to banks being overburdened and struggling to perform their usual daily functions.

Compliance costs weigh down all kinds of vendors and financial organizations, regardless of the type of services they offer. They are meant to ensure privacy and secure record-keeping of any personal data. While this framework is an essential part of the financial sector, KYC Australia has also weighed down this industry.

Fortunately, with customer age verification technology, you can decrease your non-compliance costs and ensure smooth working for your financial business. This minor protection technology reinforces better compensation and delivers a strong message to all entities regarding your business’s stance on these practices.

Prevents Chargeback Frauds

It is a fact that no industry in Australia experiences more fraudulent activities than the finance sector. These activities cost the finance industry trillions of dollars each year and are only expected to continue increasing as criminals discover sophisticated ways to steal more money.

With data breaches at an all-time high of 44.7% and identity theft on the rise, it is now more important than ever for the financial sector to invest in effective customer age validation protocols. Not only do these measures act as a safeguarding tool against identity theft, but they can also prevent chargeback fraud.

Online scammers nowadays use chargeback to cause significant losses to the financial sector and other digital entities. They buy products online, use them for a particular amount of time before claiming refunds. Since parents also make similar claims when their children make online purchases without consent, it often causes a mix-up, and fraudulent chargebacks are also affirmed in the process. 

Minimizes Financial Loses

Online businesses and any other financial entities can easily reduce activities of ‘friendly’ fraud caused by non-consenting transactions. These transactions are usually done by children, so they can easily be prevented by integrating customer age verification protocols into the online platform.

When an age verifier becomes a part of the platform or website, it checks for the age and other personal information of the person confirming the transaction. Therefore, it is a great tool to regulate the use of age-restricted services and data for the financial sector.