ZIP codes are a system of
postal codes used by the
United States Postal Service (USPS) since 1963. The term
ZIP, an acronym for
Zone Improvement Plan,[SUP]
[1][/SUP] is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the
mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the code in the
postal address. The basic format consists of five decimal
numerical digits. An extended
ZIP+4 code, introduced in the 1980s, includes the five digits of the ZIP code, a
hyphen, and four more digits that determine a more precise location than the ZIP code alone. The term
ZIP code was originally registered as a
servicemark (a type of
trademark) by the U.S. Postal Service, but its registration has since expired.[SUP]
[2]
The numbers increase southward along the
East Coast, such as 02115 (
Boston), 10001 (
New York City), 19103 (
Philadelphia), 20008 (
Washington, D.C.), 30303 (
Atlanta) and 33130 (
Miami) (these are only examples, as each of these cities contain several ZIP codes in the same range). From there, the numbers increase heading westward and northward east of the
Mississippi River, southward west of the Mississippi River, and northward on the
West Coast, . For example, 40202 is in
Louisville, 50309 in
Des Moines, 60601 in
Chicago, 63101 in
St. Louis, 77063 in
Houston, 80202 in
Denver, 94111 in
San Francisco, 98101 in
Seattle, and 99950 in
Ketchikan, Alaska (the highest ZIP code).
Marketing
The data is often used in
direct mail marketing campaigns in a process called
ZIP-code marketing.
Point-of-sale cashiers sometimes ask consumers their home ZIP code. Besides providing purchasing-pattern data useful in determining the location of new business establishments, retailers can use directories to correlate this ZIP code with the name on a credit card to obtain a consumer's full address and
telephone number. ZIP-coded data are also used in analyzing geographic factors in risk, an
insurance-
industry and
banking practice
pejoratively known as
redlining. This can cause problems (e.g. expensive insurance) for people living near a town with a high crime rate and sharing its ZIP code, while they themselves actually live in a relatively crime-free town (see Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, above.)
According to an online
CNN news story by
Greg Botelho posted on Thursday, February 10, 2011, "California's high court ruled Thursday that retailers do not have the right to ask customers for their ZIP code while completing credit card transactions, saying that doing so violates a cardholders' right to protect his or her personal information."[SUP]
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[h=3][
edit] Legislative districts[/h]ZIP codes can be used to identify legislative districts. For example, the website of the
U.S. House of Representatives has a "Find Your Representative" feature in the upper left corner based on ZIP code.
[h=3][
edit] Internet[/h]ZIP code data is an integral part of dealer/
store locator software on many
web sites, especially
brick-and-click websites. This software processes a user-input ZIP code and returns a list of store or business locations, usually in order of increasing distance from the center of the input ZIP code. As the ZIP system is confined to the U.S. Postal network, websites that require ZIP codes cannot register customers outside the U.S.[SUP]
[16][/SUP]
ZIP codes can also be used to pull-up local news data embedded on news websites of national networks, as well as weather information. Similarly, local TV listings (including show times on syndicated programmes) can be accessed by inputting the ZIP code.
[h=3][
edit] Credit card security[/h]Main article:
Address Verification System
ZIP codes are used in credit card authorization, specifically
Address Verification System (AVS). When a merchant collects the entire address, the ZIP code is an important part of AVS. In some cases, the ZIP code is the only thing used for AVS, specifically where collecting a signature, or other information is infeasible, such as
pay at the pump,
Redbox terminals, or
vending machines.
[h=3][
edit] Insurance Rating[/h]ZIP Codes are used by most insurance carriers to determine the rate the customer will receive. Higher populated areas will generally receive a higher rate, but that is not always true. In some areas with a high population, the rate for comprehensive coverage can be lower due to the fact that the area has a low crime rate.
Wikipedia
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