Global Payments Provider Rapyd Seeks to Put a Lid on Fraud Across Multiple Payment Types

As cross-border transfers become a priority with merchants and processors across multiple payment methods, the risk of fraud losses multiplies. That pressure has led Rapyd Financial Networks Ltd. to launch a feature aimed at detecting fraudulent transactions across the company’s network, which operates in more than 100 countries and supports some 900 payment methods.

The new service, called Rapyd Protect, uses machine learning to deal with what the London-based company sees as a threat that becomes more complicated because of the varied types of payment its network supports. “We combine our globe-spanning insights with unique data and extensive rules libraries to decrease risk, reduce chargebacks, and fight fraud on a global level across more payment methods,” said Helcio Nobre, Rapyd’s chief product officer, in a statement.

Globally, online fraud on average is taking about 1.8% of revenue from businesses, according to statistics reported by Mastercard Inc. Each dollar of chargebacks, meanwhile, is costing e-commerce merchants an additional $2.94 in various expenses, the card network reports. 

Rapyd, which maintains offices also in Mountain View, Calif., and Singapore, has built a reputation for allowing emerging financial-services and payments companies to support card and non-card payments in what it calls a “fintech-as-a-service” model. While the breadth of payment types and international scope can complicate fraud detection, the 4-year-old company argues its network can also generate a storehouse of data that can help pin down outbreaks of illicit activity.

The new service can also be used as a module on top of existing fraud-fighting technologies, the company says, and can be customized according to business model or geography. “Rapyd’s primary commitment to global businesses is to ensure online customers can complete purchases with their preferred payment method, from major credit cards to local [alternative payment methods],” Nobre says in his statement. 

These alternative methods include cash. In October, Rapyd announced an agreement with Atlanta-based processor InComm Inc. to enable cash bill payments and loads at merchants across the United States.

Rapyd has been active with other North American clients as well. In August, for example, the company said it is working with tuition-payments processor PayMyTuition to support payments via bank transfers from countries in Latin America and Asia Pacific via a single application programming interface integration.