Egaming customers show low tolerance for ID checks
Experian report finds online gaming consumers move on should verification check take more than four minutes to complete, the lowest in ten sectors
Online gaming operators are at risk of losing out on thousands of customers should their identity checks take more than four minutes, according to a study by Experian.
The global information services provider found that online gaming customers are only prepared to spend an average of four minutes undergoing identity verification before they abandon a transaction.
According to the survey, this timeframe represents the lowest tolerance level across a selection of ten sectors and compares to six minutes for transport and nine minutes for insurance. Mortgage customers had the highest tolerance with a ten minute tipping point.
“Identity verification is becoming an increasingly important part of egaming operations, particularly as the online industry for this sector grows, and the process of dealing with consumers face-to-face is becoming less commonplace,” Nick Mothershaw, director of identity and fraud at Experian, said.
“Our research shows that egaming businesses are at risk of losing out on trade as thousands of consumers are taking their custom elsewhere. It is therefore vital for online gaming outlets to make sure the transaction process is as fast and simple as possible, without compromising the level of site security, in order not to miss out on business,” he added.
Callcredit Information Group, a supplier of customer verification services to major online operators, believes customers have become accustomed to quick response times.
“It comes as no surprise that online consumers are not prepared to wait for verification processes to complete “ though it does come as quite a shock that four minutes is the threshold of their patience “ from a personal perspective I would lose patience before that and go elsewhere,” Callcredit market development manager Rob Meakin told eGaming Review.
Earlier this month, London-listed operator bwin.party signed a deal with customer verification services firm CAMS to receive player age verification and identification services in the US and CAMS CEO Matthew Katz said internet speeds can affect verification times.
“Internet connection speeds can vary, which can add time to even the fastest ID verification process,”he said. “The best course of action is to engineer a streamlined process and constantly strive to improve its speed and efficiency.”