26/10/2005

QAS, an Experian® company, has launched a new range of solutions for the identity authentication market. The IDentifier range will enable organisations to authenticate, find and locate people using a combination of unique data sources from QAS and Experian, along with existing third party databases. Identifier complements QAS' existing suite of address management products, QuickAddress, which helps 8,000 UK organisations capture accurate address data at the first point of contact and preserve integrity over time.

Targeted at financial services, retail and telecoms companies in the UK, IDentifier solutions will streamline verification and authentication processes, resulting in faster and more efficient services for consumers, together with significant time and cost savings for organisations. This will help them to minimisethe risk of fraud and provideconsumers with security against ID theft. Solutions to trace, locate and verify individuals' name and address for financial or regulatory reasons will also be available to public and private sector organisations.

Independent research commissioned by QAS revealed that 87 per cent of current paper-based authentication processes in the UK take between two and 14 days to be approved, compared to just minutes with an electronic approach. Faster authentication means applications can be processed within minutes, eliminating long wait times for customers. Organisations can also store digital files, archiving the audit trail of identification for compliance purposes, securely and cost-efficiently.

Electronic authentication has been approved as an alternative to paper documentation checks by the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG). Electronic identity checks minimise the risk of potential fraud, with accuracy guaranteed from trusted data sources such as the electoral register, the National Postal Address File and the National Change of Address File (NCOA) databases. Identity fraud costs the UK economy more than £1.3 billion a year*.

Harry Meikle, Group Managing Director of QAS, stated:

"With 15 years experience in address and data management, today's announcement demonstrates the continued evolution of QAS solutions. Our parent company, Experian, also has a strong track record in providing authentication solutions and our alignment with them can only strengthen our offering. By ensuring that organisations have accurate name and address details for individuals, as well as the ability to authenticate identity to confirm individuals are who they say they are, extends the value of our solutions. This will lead to a better customer experience, and is the next step to further enhancing QAS' market-leading product portfolio."