As EMV takes hold in the U.S. and cyberthieves look to jump on the CNP bandwagon, here’s a fresh look at what merchants must do to ensure that the methods they use to authenticate consumers are firing on all cylinders. And, they’ve enlisted a rather unusual merchant ally to help set that stage.
A month into the transition to EMV in the U.S., the retail sector has to worry about a new threat – card-not-present (CNP) fraud lurks. In anticipation of that shift, CardinalCommerce has partnered with perhaps an unlikely ally, Amtrak, to create a series of steps aimed at getting business proactive and ahead of the curve.
In a white paper titled “A Merchant’s Guide to Consumer Authentication Deployment – Tips for Success,” the duo posits that a number of “real world tips” can help for a smooth transition to more efficient authentication products.
Perhaps most important is knowledge of the current state of one’s card-not-present situation. Any company adopting safeguards should be aware of its own history with CNP and should also be cognizant of its key performance metrics relevant to a given industry, but some common ones to consider (and which impact any business in any industry) range from card acceptance rates to online shopping cart abandonment.
Decisions about technology are also crucial. The merchant must choose among different offerings of gateways, fraud tools (standalone or tied to suites), and levels of technical support and reporting outputs. Different merchants need varying degrees of information (albeit likely in real-time), so keeping track of funds earmarked for tech investment, and ways to measure return on that investment, remain key.
Communication beyond technology also holds importance, at least in the form of internal communication. An informed team is one that understands the benefits and timeline of the changes taking place, and can relay those advantages to customers through marketing or other communications.
The best laid plans of companies and the people who steer them can oft go awry, so CardinalCommerce and Amtrak recommend having a contingency plan in the form of a rollback (in terms of timeline) or even as a “kill switch” that enables the bypass of 3DS.
Regarding the consumer experience, the more data provided, the better, especially as it benefits the merchant and the authentication process itself. It pays to be on top of the messages that are fed to users during the authentication process, and even when they are NOT authenticated, or when transactions have to go to manual review for completion.
Mobile is an important part of any user experience, increasingly so. Thus, a mobile site must be embedded in any plans for consumer authentication. Safety and security and ease of use is paramount, say Amtrak and CardinalCommerce.
Finally, after the technology is deployed, the system is rolled out, and the consumers are being authenticated, merchants need to constantly track the improvements authentication has been, or should be, making to both the bottom line and consumer traffic overall. The two companies recommend sharing data between merchants and client management information providers as cross pollination of information and ideas can result in optimal fraud prevention.
To learn more download the white paper by clicking the button below.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More