When making a purchase online or over the phone, you will be asked for a number of addresses in order to process the order.
Billing and shipping addresses are all common requirements of online purchases. More often than not, these addresses are the same but its important to understand the differences between them and why they are required.
Billing address
Billing address is the address linked to your bank account and the one you registered with your bank when you set up your payment method with your bank.
A billing address is usually your listed home address and should be updated if you move house. A billing address must be provided for an online purchase, otherwise the order will not be processes.
When the payment is processed, the billing address is checked against the payment card details so if it is not right, the payment will be rejected and the order will fail.
Shipping address
The shipping address is where you would like your items to be delivered.
In most cases, the online retailer will automatically link your billing address to the shipping address but prompt you to change the shipping address if you wish the items to be shipped to an alternative location. This may also come into play if you are making the purchase as a gift for someone and would like it delivered to their address.
Protecting your details
It’s more important than ever these days to protect our personal information as much as we can. When moving home, ensure you update your address details with your bank.
If you fail to do so, important and sensitive information will be sent to your old home, opening the door to the risk of fraud. You will also fail to receive new bank cards which will impact your ability to make payments.
