There is no doubt that merchants have embraced mobile commerce. However, in trying to open a new and increasingly lucrative sales channel, many merchants have failed to see the risks involved. From a risk management standpoint, mobile devices present a real challenge.
In the 2016 Mobile Payments & Fraud Survey released in April by CardNotPresent.com, Kount and The Fraud Practice, it was revealed that – even though more merchants than every support mobile transactions – more than 40 percent shared they have no idea what portion of their total fraud losses took place on a mobile device.
In the words of Rich Stuppy, COO at Kount, “There’s a bit of a gold rush going on and no one is worried about packing a coat for winter in the Klondike. There’s confusion around whether or not companies even need to take a different approach to risk. Will a merchant’s existing tool sets work or do they need special customized tools?”
The merchants themselves, on the other hand, seem to disagree. They aren’t so sure that special attention to and tools for fraud in the mobile channel is necessary. The numbers from the survey support this. 41 percent of merchants acknowledged that m-commerce is “somewhat riskier” or “far riskier” than traditional commerce. However, only 20 percent felt that mobile requires specialized fraud tools.
According to cardnotpresent.com, this is “down from 24 percent last year and 32 percent the year before.”
It would seem that merchants are zeroed in on customer experience, possibly to the detriment of risk management principles. Overall, merchants appear to be unsettled on how to deal with fraud in the mobile channel. So, is there a way for merchants to protect their business while also taking advantage of the lucrative mobile commerce? The answer may lie with high risk merchant account providers.
A high risk provider specializes in working with businesses categorized as “high risk”. They also understand that chargebacks and fraud are a major concern for merchants, and tailor their programs to meet these needs. Consider First American Merchant, for example. Through strategic partnerships with Verifi and Ethoca’s Alert System, FAM offers high risk merchants the very best in chargeback prevention and protection programs.
First American Merchant – among many other providers – works hard to offer merchants the most competitive pricing and the highest rate of approved merchant accounts. The other advantage is how simple the online application process is with a high risk provider. The application process takes a matter of minutes to complete, and merchants hear back in as little as 24-48 hours. With fraud losses becoming a very real problem, merchants can’t be too careful when it comes choosing the right merchant account provider and payment processing solutions for their business.