Riskified, the fraud management platform enabling frictionless eCommerce and Axerve have launched an extended strategic partnership. Axerve is an Italian-based payments hub that has developed a platform for orchestrating payments worldwide across Riskified’s machine learning solutions. The payment hub includes PSD2 Optimize, which supports Axerve’s portfolio of customers. One of Axerve’s first clients to implement PSD2 Optimize is KIKO Milano. The company saw an exemption of nearly 99% of orders from Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) using Transaction Risk Analysis (TRA). More than 10% increase in approval rates for transactions.
Since compliance with the European Union’s (EU) PSD2 regulations, SCA requirements have added complexity for merchants. PSD2 Optimize enables merchants to minimise the effect of the EU’s PSD2 regulations on their eCommerce by leveraging TRA exemptions. The exemptions will provide a seamless and secure payment experience for legitimate users and low-risk orders. Additionally, for the use of 3D Secure payments (3DS) they are applied only when it’s necessary. At a time when eCommerce continues growing, ensuring friction-free solutions is vital to improving the shopping experience for consumers and the collection experience for merchants.
More optimisation for less friction
To help merchants overcome challenges imposed by PSD2, Axerve introduced Riskified PSD2 Optimize as part of its payment processing platform – Axerve Guaranteed Payments. KIKO Milano, a long-time Axerve client, has historically championed investing in new solutions to enhance customer experience. The company has been looking for a fraud prevention solution to reduce fraud costs and increase conversion rates.
“When PSD2 went live, Axerve notified us that our denied transactions rate was quickly increasing. Our customer care team also alerted us that the number of tickets opened by customers was multiplying four-fold,” said Diego Morgandi, eCommerce Director at KIKO Milano. “We were glad to hear about Riskified’s solution from Axerve, and we immediately wanted to test it. The benefits from PSD2 Optimize were immediate. We saw a reduction in failed transactions that drove the approval rate up. This allowed us to grant our customers a real frictionless checkout experience. This partnership is key for us to succeed.”
In an environment as complex as the payments ecosystem, flexibility and innovation are fundamental. This is needed to satisfy the increasing need for protection in the whole payment process. At the same time, making it as friction-free and seamless as possible while being secure and compliant. Riskified’s solutions help eCommerce merchants approve more orders, increase revenue, expand into new markets, and deliver a better customer experience. Thanks to the partnership with Axerve, eCommerce merchants from various industries in Europe can now enjoy Riskified’s PSD2 Optimize solution. Businesses can leverage exemptions and ensure a frictionless payment experience for their customers.
Offering innovative solutions
“As a partner for our clients in the world of payments, it is our duty to always offer the most innovative solutions that allow us to guarantee our clients the best possible authorisation rate,” said Alessandro Bocca, CEO of Axerve. “The initial phase of the PSD2 adoption was difficult since the system and the industry was not equipped for the challenge, both in managing the authentication part and also on the issuer side to manage exemptions which led to a high loss in conversions. The challenge of the SCA, and in general of fraud management, has become an opportunity after being able to join forces with Riskified, best in class on fraud prevention.”
“When PSD2 was introduced, we knew that our merchants and partners needed an immediate solution. They needed to comply with the regulation and implement 3D-secure and leverage exemptions to improve their customer experience. For a merchant to maximise exemptions, they have to perform a transaction risk analysis and identify those low-risk orders. And this is exactly the capability that Riskified possesses as we’ve been perfecting this in the last decade.” said Naama Ofek Ard, Chief Operating Officer at Riskified. “The goal of everyone involved is to provide higher conversion rates to merchants and a smooth experience for their customers. This partnership is a testament to our mission and our capabilities.”
Enterprise Times: What this means for business.
The ultimate goal for any payments processing solution is to simplify complex checkout processes for customers. At the same time guaranteeing high-security standards. When PSD2 came into force, eCommerce merchants across Europe immediately felt its effect on the customer journey. The friction added to the checkout flow caused shoppers to abandon their carts, which negatively affected conversion rates.
Retailers, in particular, experienced a high volume of support tickets from customers complaining they couldn’t complete their purchase. With high volumes of orders challenged by 3DS, accompanied by a high decline rate, they realised they needed a tool to optimise their checkout process and safeguard revenue. Furthermore, they needed partners who could ensure full compliance with the regulation. Hence the partnership that enables Axerve’s customers to implement Riskified’s PSD2 Optimize solution. The solution helped KIKO Milano ensure frictionless checkout for almost 99% of their customers. A completion rate that most brands or retailers would be satisfied to achieve.
