Payment methods growth makes online merchants struggle to prevent fraud

According to a research conducted by global payments specialist Worldpay, only 1 in 5 (20%) online merchants stated they are very confident about their ability to manage new fraud threats and half (50%) find it difficult to keep up with fraud trends.

Findings indicate that almost three-quarters (73%) of respondents plan to operate through new channels during 2014-2017. However, 77% believe that a multi-channel approach makes fraud prevention more difficult and 76% feel it makes them more open to fraud attacks.

The study reveals that international online merchants sell to an average of 14 countries, yet 70% admit they struggle to keep ahead of fraudulent activities within those different markets. Also, three quarters (76%) of online merchants state that they expect international orders to make up a greater proportion of their customer orders by 2016.

As alternative payments continue to gain popularity, the variety of payment methods merchants’ offer is also seen as a risk to fraud prevention. 63% state that they are struggling to keep ahead of fraudulent activities across different payment methods. And among merchants accepting specific payment methods, there is greatest concern about fraud: 82% for credit cards and virtual currencies alike, 78% for e-wallets and 75% for mobile payments.

The report also unveils that the main barriers to fraudulent orders reduction are not having a dedicated omni-channel fraud and loss prevention method (57%) as well as the lack of time to investigate and implement methods that could better manage fraud (49%). 82% also feel that a partnership approach with a fraud expert is critical to keeping ahead of threats.

The report surveyed employees responsible for fraud prevention at more than 250 international online merchants.