Sumsub, a tech company that helps businesses stay compliant and fight digital fraud, has recently added document subtype recognition to its Proof of Address verification solution. Now user verification flows can be adjusted to specific regulatory requirements since companies can set different rules based on the type of the document submitted.
Proof of address, or PoA, is a document that verifies a person’s permanent residence. Checking such documents is one of the basic requirements for KYC/AML compliance. However, the legitimacy of one’s PoA is not always certain.
PoA can be confirmed by submitting documents such as bank statements, utility bills, voter registration, mobile operator bills, etc. Some documents, such as bank statements and tax bills, are considered less risky since they are difficult to obtain and harder to fake. Other types are associated with high forgery rates. Mobile phone bills, for instance, are riskier since SIM cards can be sold to anyone everywhere, regardless of their actual long-term residence.
With subtypes recognition, Sumsub’s customers can not only see what kind of document is used as PoA, but also decide which documents they want to accept as proof based on their regulator’s requirements.
“With our Proof of Address document subtypes check, you can leverage risks with your service accessibility. It is now easy to differentiate rules based on the type of the document submitted. For instance, you can offer a higher deposit for your applicant if they use a bank statement, or allow them less if they verify their address with a mobile bill,” explains Andrew Novoselsky, Chief Product Officer.
As always, verification speed is crucial. That’s why document subtypes checks require no more than 5 to 10 additional seconds to the PoA verification, and can be smoothly integrated into the onboarding flow. The document subtypes available include telecom bills, utilities, and government-issued statements (like voter registration or tax bills), bank statements/certificates and mobile operator bills.
This new feature is primarily aimed at the fintech market, since companies in the trading sector are often obliged to verify their users’ residence and understand their clients’ risk scores
