Visa and Ethoca Collaborate to Help eCommerce Merchants Reduce Fraud

FOSTER CITY, Calif. and TORONTO, June 11, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Visa and Ethoca are working together on a service that will notify eCommerce merchants of fraudulent transactions, allowing them to quickly stop the fulfillment process. The service is intended to help merchants reduce fraud losses and associated chargeback costs. The Visa-enhanced service is currently available to U.S. and Brazil merchants through Ethoca and also through CyberSource, a leading global payment management company and wholly-owned subsidiary of Visa Inc.  

Using near real-time information from Visa on confirmed fraud transactions, Ethoca is able to send secure alerts to the affected merchants in the critical 24-72 hour window between when eCommerce orders are placed and when they are fulfilled or shipped, a significant reduction in time from the current average of three to six weeks it takes for merchants to be notified.

The offering compares transactions from Ethoca's merchant customer base against fraud data sent by Visa and participating issuers. In the event a purchase is confirmed as fraudulent, Ethoca's platform immediately notifies the merchant through its alerts dashboard. This early warning gives merchants more time to stop the fulfillment process, limiting fraud losses. An analysis of past transactions suggests Ethoca Alerts enhanced by Visa data could help prevent $300 million in fraud annually. 

"We are excited about this new layer of security that we hope will make a real difference in an online merchant's fraud losses," said Silvio Tavares, global head of information products, Visa Inc. "Our relationship with Ethoca is another way that we are responsibly using our network intelligence and fraud information to deliver valuable services to merchants."

U.S. online retail sales are predicted to reach $370 billion by 2017, up from $231 billion in 2012, according to Forrester Research[1]. Maintaining strong fraud prevention defenses will be important if merchants are going to make the most out of the opportunity ahead.

"The biggest differentiator in our service is that we provide merchants with timely access to information not previously available," said Andre Edelbrock, Ethoca CEO.  "Our collaborative approach to fraud management enables Visa, issuers and merchants to connect and work together toward a common purpose of reducing fraud."

Ethoca's proven platform catches up to 73 percent of transactions authorized by issuers that are subsequently confirmed by consumers as fraud, and the performance is expected to be further enhanced by the inclusion of Visa data. Ethoca's growing list of customers includes more than 200 well-known eCommerce brands including 9 of the top 10 internet retailers[2].

About Ethoca - Ethoca is a secure network for card issuers and merchants to connect and work collaboratively outside the payment network in a unique and powerful way.  Ethoca helps card issuers and online merchants recapture lost revenues and fraud that slips through the cracks of their defences. To find out more, please visit www.ethoca.com.

About Visa Inc. - Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world's most advanced processing networks—VisaNet—that is capable of handling more than 30,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit corporate.visa.com.

[1] "U.S. Online Retail Sales to Reach $370 Billion by 2017," Forrester Research, Inc., March 13, 2013.
[2] As ranked by Internet Retailer in its annual Top 500 Guide (2013 Edition).

SOURCE Visa Inc.