Background Verification Companies In India – The Changing Paradigm

Did you know that a whopping number of candidates lie on their resume in the hopes of getting the job they want? It’s true. A study conducted by CareerBuilder found that out of 2,500 managers in charge of hiring, as much as 56 per cent admitted that they have caught applicants providing false information on their resumes. Data from AuthBridge concluded that 1 in every 6 candidates lied on their resume in 2017 to bag a lucrative job!

It is exactly for this reason that employee screening services are increasingly in demand. Background verification companies in India are dealing with a lot of businesses that want to make sure that their potential employees are exactly who they claim to be, and they are not a threat to the safety and security of other employees and even the company itself. Today, background screening for employees is no longer seen as an unnecessary expense, but rather a necessary step that can ensure a company’s stability. Read on to find out how the perception of background verification has undergone a positive change, and how background verification companies in India are contributing, as well as responding to this welcome change in landscape.

How Businesses Approach Background Verification: Then and Now

Earlier, it was a common perception of most businesses that employee screening services were an unnecessary expense that only increased operational costs. But as mentioned before, this was clearly not the smartest decision, since so many job applicants lie on their resumes. Moreover, instances where employees commit fraud at workplaces were on the rise and became a genuine concern among employees. In fact, a study by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners in 2014 found that occupational fraud cost companies almost $3.7 trillion worldwide.

It also reported that employees steal around 5 per cent of revenues every year on average. Seeing this dire mistake of compromising on background screening for employees, businesses now approach background verification not as an unnecessary expense, but as a critical business measure to mitigate risks, that could have cost them thousands of dollars in damage.

 Today, background verification companies in India are in demand more than ever because businesses now understand that employee screening services are imperative steps that must not be ignored in any situation. They are an important method of building trust with their potential employees.

How background verification companies in India are changing the landscape

Background verification companies in India play the most critical part in this changing landscape of background screening for employees. Not only do they contribute to the shifting paradigm, but they also have to respond to it, since the kind of services they offer are completely dependent on it. The rapid increase in technological innovations and automation has definitely helped background verification companies to keep up with the increasing demand, without the quality of their reports suffering. On the contrary, it has helped them to be more efficient.

AuthBridge, India’s leading background verification company, makes use of state-of-the-art tech-driven devices and platforms like Application Program Interface, commonly known as API, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and more. Using the technology of APIs, background screening for employees in any company can be made easy, like never before. Now, you can directly raise cases and get results. Also, you can track real-time progress without manual intervention or paperwork of any kind. There is minimal scope for errors too since well-crafted and efficient machines carry out the entire process. Moreover, it is an excellent option for background screening companies in India as it can effectively save costs on logistics and manpower. If you want to know more about the changing landscape of background verification, schedule an appointment with our expert today.

Write to us at: sales@authbridge.com

Water Bill Verification – When and How to Use it?

No business, especially those dealing with finances, should undermine the need and importance of an exhaustive identity verification. Especially with instances of identity thefts and security breaches becoming commonplace, it has now become a necessity for businesses to perform identity verification  on all employees, clients and customers. A valid identity and address proof should be demanded, and a water bill verification can help here

 

How Water Bill Verification process is helping the cause of identity verification?

In India, financial and banking knowledge is still pretty low. In fact, just 10 percent of the population have valid credit scores. Moreover, a huge number of people in rural areas still lack access to financial institutions like banks and other tech-enabled platforms that can be found in cities. So, in instances where these people have to deal with financial institutions like applying for loans, submission of their water bill can help verify their identity. Besides, the central government has recently been pushing businesses in the country to perform identity authentication on every customer so that frauds can be prevented. This is where a water bill verification comes in to help businesses document customer information.

Such identity verification processes help in reducing risks which could cost businesses lakhs of rupees and strengthen the relationship that companies share with their customers. It also shows customers that the company values safety and security, thereby creating a trustworthy brand image. Water Bill information also gives businesses the assurance that their customers are who they claim to be and have no intention of committing fraud. Moreover, it is a necessary step for every business to determine their customers’ paying attitude. Patterns of water bill payments can also help businesses understand the likelihood of defaults on credit offered to that customer and the payment attitude of that customer.

So, it is safe to say that running a water bill verification, which is the one document that most people in India are likely to have, is one of the ways for conducting identity verification. It can prove a customer’s identity, address, financial responsibility and paying attitude. Now, let us look into how a water bill verification works.

 

Methodology of water bill verification

With our advanced and reliable application program interface or APIs, we can conduct an accurate water bill verification of any individual, for any company that requires this service. For the uninitiated, APIs are what keeps many of today’s apps running. They help to connect systems, resulting in quick delivery of accurate results. In simple words, APIs are a way of how applications communicate with each other.

For example, when you download a new app that needs signing up, it gives you the option of signing up with your information already saved in other apps, like Facebook. This is possible only through APIs. Now that the role of APIs is understood, let’s look into how it can help with water bill verification. Here are the various kinds of information about an individual that can be verified using a thorough water bill verification process.

•    Identity
A water bill verification is proof of a person’s identity. The bill will always have that person’s legal name.

•    Residential address
The residential address of the individual is also clearly stated in their water bill. Therefore, a water bill verification proves that any business’ customer or client provides the correct residential information.

•    Various bill details
Another benefit of a water bill verification is that other bill details like the current bill amount and due date, outstanding bills, payment history and more can be seen.

These are testimonies of the payment-making trend of the individual and shows how reliable or financially responsible they are as individuals. Know more by scheduling an appointment with our expert today.

Write to us at communication@authbridge.com.

How is ‘Electricity Bill Verification’ Done?

With instances of identity thefts becoming commonplace, it has increasingly become important for businesses to perform identity verification on all their customers. This includes demanding valid identity proof as well as address proof. In a country like India, where just 10 percent of the population has valid credit scores, it is a necessary step for every business to determine their paying attitude. Know Your Customer (KYC) and making it mandatory for people to link their Aadhaar with bank accounts and phone numbers are popular steps that are enforced to ensure that no frauds occur.

However, we all know that a large portion of the rural population in India lacks access to financial institutions like banks, and does not even own mobile phones. Yet, they still need monetary aid like loans. Moreover, ID proofs like Aadhaar, even though it is widely used and easily available in urban areas, are still not available in some parts of the country. And many times, ID proofs like a voter’s ID are not always sufficient. More often than not, many businesses require additional documents like utility bills to verify the address and financial condition of an individual. NBFCs are using utility bill verification as a part of the KYC process to support the unbanked rural population across the country. So, it appears that for India, utility bill verification is the most pragmatic approach for businesses to undertake when it comes to verifying not only the identity and address of customers but their paying attitude and capability too. And since an electricity bill is the one document that most people are likely to have, an electricity bill verification is the most convenient and reliable proof that customers can submit, especially in rural areas. Besides, for businesses, not only does this help in mitigating risks, it strengthens the relationship they share with their customers. It also proves to customers that they are a company that genuinely cares about a safe and secure business procedure and such practices like electricity bill verification establishes them as brand people can place their trust in. With increasing pressure and regulations from the central government for businesses to perform identity authentication on customers to prevent any identity theft or fraud, an electricity bill verification can provide much-needed help to document customer details.

 

Methodology of electricity bill verification

At AuthBridge, we use advanced and state-of-the-art application program interfaces or Electricity Bill Verification API for a thorough and accurate electricity bill verification of any individual, by pulling out data from each state’s electricity board. Thanks to cutting-edge technological innovations, we are able to access an accurate and complete database to carry out electricity bill verification that any business may need. Here are the various kinds of information about an individual that can be verified using a thorough electricity bill verification process.

  • Identity

An electricity bill verification is proof of a person’s identity as it clearly states their legal name. So, any business can be sure that their customer is exactly who they claim to be, and not an identity thief.

  • Residential Address

The residential address of the individual is also clearly stated in their electricity bill or Utility bill. Therefore, an electricity bill verification proves that any business customer provides the correct information about themselves, without any intention of fraud. Plus, in case a fraud does happen, businesses have a way of contacting and tracking down anyone if they had incorporated a utility bill for address verification.

  • Attitude towards Credit/Payments

Another benefit of electricity bill verification is that other bill details like the current bill amount and due date, outstanding bills, payment history, and more are available. Such information is valuable because they present the payment-making trend of the individual, and this shows how reliable or financially responsible they are as individuals. So, businesses, especially financial institutions can decide from electricity bill verification if their customers are to be trusted. To know more about the latest developments in KYC and electricity bill verification, reach out to us at

communication@authbridge.com

Distributor Due Diligence – How to Get This Right?

India’s retail industry has grown considerably over the last decade. In fact, AT Kearney, a global management consulting firm in the U.S. has ranked the country as the 4th most attractive – among thirty other top markets – when it comes to retail investments. This welcome growth also comes with not just the rising need for distributors, but a systematic due diligence process for distributors as well. A distributor is like a middleman between a producer and customers or retailers. So, it is safe to say that a huge portion of any business relationship with its customers is reliant on the distributors. They are your business partners who carry your brand to the public and in many ways, they affect your brand reputation.

As such, it is crucial that you only work with diligent, responsible, and trustworthy distributors, who share the same values and visions as your business, no matter which field of business you are in. And what is the best way to make sure that you partner with reliable distributors with a good reputation? A thorough distributor due diligence. This is a critical process before partnering with any distributor. Distributor due diligence should never be overlooked or compromised.

Before, companies faced various challenges in verifying the capability of distributors before they decided to work with them. After all, without the tech-driven platforms that we have today, distributor due diligence was a lot of work. However, today, with easy access to all kinds of data thanks to technological innovations, it is much easier to verify a distributor’s reliability and reputation through a thorough distributor due diligence process. For example, here at AuthBridge, we can conduct a comprehensive process of distributor due diligence with quick turnaround and detailed reporting.

 

Critical points to consider for distributor due diligence

Do you want to make sure that your customers continue to trust you? Do you wish to be a company that is respected and valued in the industry? If so, it is imperative that you choose to partner with distributors only after conducting an exhaustive distributor onboarding diligence process. Such a process will not only help to uphold your brand reputation but can save you thousands of dollars by mitigating business risks. Trust is the most important factor when it comes to any business partnership. So, here are some critical points to consider while conducting distributor due diligence to make sure they are someone you can trust.

 

Verify business registrations and other public documents

One way to know that your potential distributor is trustworthy is by verifying their registration details such as their registered office and registration date. If possible, go ahead and verify their latest round of accounts too. If the information you find does not match with what they themselves have provided, you may want to conduct more distributor due diligence tests.

 

Find out how long they have been functioning for

Another way to ensure their reliability is by finding out how long your potential distributor has been in business for. Usually, they themselves should be able to tell you from their sales literature. However, if they are a fairly new company, this point may not be applicable. In such cases, distributor due diligence can be conducted by contacting their previous clients or customers.

 

Verify registration details of domain name

Another method of testing distributor due diligence is by verifying if the domain name of their website is registered to their business. Check the registration details, and if it is registered to a different address than the one on their documents or website, or to an individual, it is a smart move to approach with caution.

 

Reviewing financials is one option

Especially for a huge deal, reviewing financials by an accountant is not uncommon. This will let you know just how fiscally responsible they are in their business. But for smaller deals, this test of distributor due diligence is less common.

Why Criminal Record Check Is The Key While Screening New Employees

Importance of Criminal Background Checks

You need to conduct a criminal record check because as a business, you are responsible to your customers to provide trustworthy executives to deliver services for them. For instance, hiring an investment banker with a criminal charge of fraud to his or her name could spell disaster for your company if these charges are brought to light. Whether or not the employee engages in fraud while working for you does not matter. The customers need to be able to trust you with their hard earned money and having a fraudster at the wheel betrays that trust.

Criminal record checks can prevent costly and embarrassing hiring mistakes like the one mentioned in the example. Every company needs to decide for itself what kind of guidelines need to be in place when conducting criminal checks on candidates. A cab aggregator, for example, could steer clear of candidates who have a history of drunk driving and/or a rape conviction or hiring a delivery boy who has a criminal record of theft will not sit well with a lot of customers if there is any unwanted incident. Careful screening of all candidates is therefore important based on a set of parameters predetermined by your company. The information obtained while conducting a criminal record check should also be protected under certain company rules. As an employer, you might decide that someone whose criminal background check shows a problem of drug abuse in the past but who is clean now deserves a second chance. Keeping the criminal record check results of that employee confidential helps to protect their reputation and improve morale and productivity.

Here are a few guidelines that can be followed while conducting a Criminal Check

– You need to be absolutely sure that there is no identity mix up when looking at police records while doing a criminal check. – You always get the candidates’ consent before conducting a criminal background check. – You allow the candidate the chance to defend themselves and explain the results of the criminal check. – You conduct a thorough criminal background verification to learn if the candidate was accused of a crime or was involved in another manner like as a witness or even the victim.

How can AuthBridge help

At AuthBridge, we already have a set of guidelines in place for conducting criminal background checks. You can build your own criminal background check parameters on our existing guidelines. We already have the systems and software in place to conduct criminal checks by searching a number of public and special records. We save you time and money as you don’t have to hire new staff or train existing staff to conduct criminal record checks.

Write to us at

communication@authbridge.com or send us a message and we will get back to you at the earliest.

Form 16 Verification

Form 16: Definition, Importance, & Verification Process

Form 16 Background Verification is an important step for any business in the hiring process for a new employee. It can help companies verify that the information the candidate has provided regarding his or her previous compensation is true since it clearly contains every salary transaction, including tax deductions. Therefore, with Form 16 verification, you can fairly determine their new salaries and incentives for when they do start working for your company.

About Form 16

Form 16 is a certificate that employers issue to their employees to certify that they deduct TDS, which stands for Tax Deducted at Source. At the end of every financial year, the employer has to issue Form 16 which contains the total amount of salary, as well as the amount of tax deducted from an employee’s earnings. Form 16 is also sometimes called a salary certificate.

What Is Form 16?

Form 16 contains two parts, namely Part A, followed by Part B. Part A contains the Permanent Account Number or PAN of the employee and the employer’s Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number or TAN. It also includes the names and addresses of both parties, as well as how long the employee worked under the employer and the year of assessment. The assessment year for any financial year is the following financial year. For example, the assessment year for 2017-2018 will be 2018-2019.

Apart from these details, Part A contains the summary, and monthly details of TDS deducted and deposited by the employer to the government. On the other hand, Part B contains a combined detail of the employee’s salary for the financial year. Salary break up, as well as tax deduction details he or she claims as per Section 80 of the Indian Income Tax Act are mentioned in Part B of Form 16.

Why Is Form 16 Verification Important?

If any company deducts tax for employees at the source, they are legally required by the Income Tax Act to issue a Form 16. It is one of the most significant tax documents for an employee since it acts as a basis for their income tax return. As such, Form 16 verification can help you make sure that any candidate does not lie about the details of their past compensation. If the Form 16 verification report shows that the candidate’s claims are credible, then you can decide on a suitable salary for them.

Form 16 verification can be even more reliable when combined with a Credit Check. Not only will you be sure that the candidate has given authentic information regarding his or her former salary, but you will also be sure, through a credit check, that they are fiscally responsible individuals.

How Is Form 16 Verification Conducted?

IRDA mandates the due diligence of a prospective agent/PoS to ensure a fraud-free work environment for the companies. Mis-selling and premium pocketing can create negative sentiments towards the industry, among its customers who might not understand the product features and importance.

Real-time verifications become more than the need of the hour in such cases, for not only combating agent frauds but also ensuring customer trust and streamlined revenue. The faster the onboarding process, the faster agents can be on the field, pushing new business and gaining new business for your company.

If you, as an employer want to conduct a Form 16 verification, you need to verify the amount of TDS deducted for the candidate’s PAN, or Permanent Account Number against their former employee’s TAN or Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number.

Here are the details of an individual that can be provided using Form 16 verification:

  • Name of the individual

Using Form 16 verification, you can verify the name of the candidate as it will appear in their associated PAN.

  • Former employers

You can also see a candidate’s former employers using Form 16 verification.

  • Amount of TDS deducted

A Form 16 verification lets you know just how much amount was deducted as TDS for a candidate. At AuthBridge, we can run a thorough Form 16 verification process for you, using our advanced and innovative application program interface.

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- Mr. Satyasiva Sundar Ruutray
Vice President, F&A Commercial,
Greenlam

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