Countless online merchants have already suffered financial losses as a result of fraud. In the face of this growing scourge, personalized support is essential to enable merchants to find the best compromise between maximizing conversion rates and minimizing risk.

HiPAY SENTINEL, A KEY ALLY

The technological arsenal plays an important role in this respect, as demonstrated by HiPay Sentinel. This tool analyzes transactions in real time and, if necessary, blocks or secures a transaction identified as suspicious or high-risk. At the time of the transaction, the tool can trigger an action if the level of risk so requires. “It all depends on what merchants consider risky or not. The nature of their business and their history in this field also influence the choices to be made. Numerous settings are possible, with over 80 preset rules. With the chosen configuration, you can request that a transaction deemed fraudulent be blocked even before authorization is requested. This will not be included in the merchant’s fraud rate,” explains Emilie Teinturier, Senior Fraud & Risk Analyst at HiPay.

Sentinel is set up between HiPay and merchants. At the start of the collaboration, a questionnaire is sent to each merchant, asking them to indicate which use cases are considered risky, as well as their particular wishes, with the ultimate aim of achieving the best possible conversion rate and the least possible fraud. Parameters are therefore set according to the degree and nature of the risks faced by each merchant. Sentinel will therefore evolve over time in line with the risk typologies of merchants’ activities and any new developments.

However, as we have already mentioned with regard to PSP support, technology is nothing without effective, tailor-made monitoring over time by a team of business experts.

This is why, in addition to the business reviews carried out by HiPay’s Account Managers, fraud reviews are performed by the Risk team. Over a given period, this involves a detailed examination of the merchant’s situation, proven frauds, actions and avenues for optimizing the Sentinel profile applied, as well as chargebacks, i.e. when cardholders request a transaction to be reversed, notably due to commercial disputes (product not received, or not conforming to description), or in the event of proven fraud.

“What are the frictionless rates? Has the use of Strong Customer Authentication prevented fraud attempts? Is it possible to limit authentication requests while securing transactions? The aim of fraud reviews is to answer questions of this kind, to take stock of important events and their context”, says Emilie Teinturier.

The merchant’s digital maturity is of course a criterion in the way these elements are taken into account. Topics are not addressed in the same way if the merchant has a team dedicated to fraud or not. The level of popularization and detail available is therefore adapted accordingly. “In all cases, it’s important that the merchants understand what’s at stake, what they’re risking, and what they’re gaining,” she continues.

Technology and team expertise for the best compromise

Fraud monitoring and detection throughout the merchant’s activity also ensures that transactions run smoothly and are legitimate. If a fraudulent network is identified, the merchant is of course immediately informed. Enhancements to their Sentinel profile are proposed when malicious attacks or new events are identified.

Detecting a new fraudulent network requires advanced data analysis. “The more information the merchant sends us (relating to deliveries, the types of products ordered, the customers’ history, etc.), the more material we have to establish relevant comparisons and findings. In this way, we can identify occasional or recurring suspicious behaviors. It is of course important for the Risk team to be proactive in order to limit the financial losses attributable to fraud issues,” emphasizes Emilie Teinturier.

Personalizing our approach is one of the keys to ensuring that our support is in line with the merchant’s desired performance/security balance, between optimizing conversion rates and minimizing risk. The context of increasing fraud and PSD2 regulations is leading to heightened awareness on the part of all players, enabling us to develop ever better solutions in this area.

Cooperation between HiPay’s various business experts is another key factor in meeting merchants’ needs and expectations. When technical developments must be taken into account on the merchant’s side, the experts in charge of risk turn to the TAMs (Technical Account Managers), who handle integration issues.

Thanks to the expertise of our teams, their personalized support and their proactivity, as you can see, at HiPay, merchants benefit from all-around performance!