How to choose the best fraud prevention solution for your business

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Recently, we surveyed 75 industry specialists on the current state of fraud in business. More than half think that attempts of fraud will continue to increase through 2023 and beyond. The best countermeasure for fraud detection and prevention? Not manual phone calls or even staff training, but an automated fraud prevention solution. In this piece, we’ll help you decide which software is the right fit for your company.

Download our Fraud Guidebook to get the full checklist of a perfectly handled fraud prevention project!

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Why is it crucial to invest in a fraud prevention solution?

Trying to tackle fraud without investing in fraud prevention solutions is like buying cheap paint – you’ll be forced to do many more coats to get the same effect. Likewise, relying on manual work to prevent fraud takes up significantly more of your resources.

The rise in B2B payment fraud

The major argument for anti-fraud platforms is that attempts of fraud are still rising. In 2023,  96% of US companies were targeted by fraud at least once.

Scam artists are innovative- constantly developing new ways to defraud businesses, and working with emerging technologies. Our study revealed that 83% of US companies were targeted by cyber fraud in 2023.

Even with new payment methods for faster and more secure payments, the development of fraudsters makes it harder for companies to create countermeasures that stand up to cyber threats.

The impact of B2B payment fraud

Some of the many impacts of falling victim to b2b payment fraud include:

  • Financial losses
  • Stressful working environment
  • Reputational damage

Financial losses

It’s estimated that US businesses lose an average of 5% of all revenues to fraud. Moreover, after a successful fraud event, investors tend to pull away from your business, doubling down on financial losses. However, it’s not all about the financial impacts of B2B payment fraud.

Stressful working environment

Having ineffective controls for fraud detection can create a stressful environment for employees. Having to always look over their shoulder, double or triple checking perfectly good work leads to poor efficiency and increased anxiety.

Reputational damage

Moreover, the reputational damage caused by falling victim to b2b payment fraud can lead to further third-party weaknesses. Vendors don’t want to work with you, with fears that their payments or shipments will be compromised. Customers don’t trust that you can keep their private information safe, with fears over consumer protection. Over one-fifth of surveyed customers stated that they would switch providers after a data breach occurred – amounting to further fraud losses.

Learn more about the impact of B2B payment fraud on US companies by downloading our latest fraud report!

 

Automated fraud prevention solutions are the most effective way to fight back

Take a look at the comparison below to see why automated fraud prevention beats out manual human work, every time:

Manual fraud prevention Automated fraud prevention solution
Takes a long time to complete checks and perform tedious data entry tasks  Use detective controls to verify company information and banking information in under two minutes
Continuous checking is very difficult and expensive – you would have to pay a team member around the clock Set to work even while you’re away from your desk, with live warnings triggered when suspicious activity is recognized
Hard to access data in real-time and prevent payments to suspicious entities Accessible internal and external data sources for reliable and instant decision-making
Less confidence in the security of data A more secure method for data protection

As a market-leading fraud-prevention solution, the Trustpair platform automates global account validation for your suppliers, controls for b2b payments and collaborative risk management. Trustpair is a b2b payment fraud prevention platform, catering to midmarket and enterprise clients worldwide. Contact an expert to wipe out fraud in not time!

demo request trustpair b2b payment prevention plateform

What features should you look for in a fraud prevention solution?

When considering a fraud detection software, there are several factors you should take into account. Examples of these include

  1. Geographic coverage
  2. Ergonomics
  3. Real-time data
  4. Flexible integrations
  5. Pricing
  6. Solution security
  7. Customer support

Geographic coverage

American organizations operate in all sorts of geographic locations these days. Consider your international suppliers, transatlantic customers, and foreign third parties. Therefore, it’s important to find a fraud prevention solution that provides the geographic coverage you’re looking for.

Having your anti-fraud platform operate in the right jurisdictions will determine the data you can access.

For example, solutions like Trustpair can validate company information and banking information, such as where a company is located and whether it appears on any blacklists. We can do this in over 170 countries globally, ensuring that our customers get access to the most thorough data for fraud prevention.

Ergonomics

Ergonomics refers to the user experience. This is potentially the most important factor for your analysts and fraud officers who will be using the software every day.

So what features should you be looking out for when it comes to ergonomics?
Can the program be customized to the preferences of your team?
Can you assign different team members with different responsibilities?
Does the fraud management platform automatically comply with regulatory standards, or is this an extra job?

Is the right data instantly accessible? Think behavioral analytics, profiling programs, and data from different geolocations

Real-time data

Getting access to live data is one of the biggest benefits of using an automated fraud detection solution. The software helps companies detect fraud threats in real-time and prevent mistakes that would otherwise be made.

So it’s important to check if the information being fed into your dashboards is live, or if there is a lag.

Real-time actions

While it’s common for many fraud prevention solutions to work with real-time data, it’s worth investigating whether your options also take action in real time. For example, programs like Trustpair use machine learning and rule-based triggers to secure the p2p process. We block payments from going through if suspicious activity has been identified.

This happens automatically, without the need for authorization from a human in your office or manual review. It means that you can run constant checks on your suppliers to find anomalies, and won’t have to run chargebacks instead.

Flexible integration modes to technical environments

Companies are as unique as a string of DNA – with varying structures, roles, responsibilities, and a specific set of tools. So why rely on a ‘one size fits all’ solution for the detection of fraud?

Instead, performing fraud control with flexibility empowers teams to integrate their existing systems and technical environments with the chosen program. This prevents a huge learning curve with the new program and keeps costs low through your transformation.

You can check this by heading to the integrations section of anti-fraud websites to check the program aligns with your needs and current technologies. For example, Trustpair integrates with most TMS, procurement, and ERP software like SAP ARIBA, Sage, and even legacy programs.

Pricing that fits your needs

Of course, you’ll need to find a fraud prevention solution that fits your budget. And while it might be tempting to choose the cheapest option here, it’s worth combining price with other factors in order to calculate value.

For example, if you opt for a $100 per month firewall that can’t validate vendor data, you’re likely to have to pay for a second, more expensive program later down the line to fill the gaps.

Security of the solution

Since you’re trying to prevent data breaches and cyber attacks, the security of the anti-fraud platform itself is important. You can verify security measures by searching or asking for the certifications.

For example, Trustpair is proudly certified by ISO27001, SOC2 Type II, and PCI DSS, and is compliant with America’s SOX Law. Similarly, we are partnered with renowned specialists SAP and have positive testimonials attesting to the security of over 200 global customers.

Customer support

Often an overlooked feature, customer support is incredibly important. After all, how can you protect your payments if the system is hard to navigate and you can’t access support?

This factor is fairly simple to gauge when you’re evaluating potential fraud prevention solutions:

  • Is customer support 24/7 or limited to standard working hours?
  • Can you reach support via your preference of method (telephone vs email vs chatbots)
  • Is the level of support thorough enough (ie technical vs generic)
  • How easy is deployment likely to be?

Again, the level of customer support you might need depends on the exact requirements of your team members and overall business. So determining the right fit in terms of which fraud prevention solution to choose is likely to take some serious consideration.

 

What are the steps to implement a fraud prevention solution?

Here’s your step-by-step guide to implementing fraud prevention solutions:

  1. List your current and future needs
  2. Set your budget
  3. Benchmark possible solutions
  4. Test
  5. Validate and deploy
  6. Train your finance teams for onboarding

List your current and future needs

Listing your current needs might be easy, but envisioning how things will change as the company grows is much harder. You need a solution that will scale as you do, including the introduction of new internal controls and data analysis techniques.

Moreover, when considering your needs for detecting fraud, it’s important to involve stakeholders. Having investors and senior leadership from all departments participate from the very beginning means that everyone becomes invested in the success of your fraud prevention. Plus, since it’s the employees who will be using your solution, they’re the ones with the most concrete vision of actual needs and potential future requirements.

This is likely to make the uptake of new policies implemented alongside your new detection software much more successful.

Set your budget early on

Setting the budget early on is a useful part of the process since it gives your finance team an accurate picture of what’s affordable. However, it could be useful to either:

  • Keep the budget flexible
  • Wait to set the budget until after you’ve done your research in order to understand average prices and market trends

For example, some features of fraud risk management are more expensive to run, and if it’s important to you to include these within your chosen fraud prevention platform, they need to be factored into your budget.

Benchmark different solutions on the market

Benchmarking allows your finance team to compare different programs. You can create your own scoring matrix, based on the factors that matter most to your business (such as supplier risk).

Then work through the solutions on offer. This will help your finance team evaluate and compare what’s on the market, and determine the most suitable platform to safeguard your business. For example, while faster payments are an attractive feature, you’ll probably value security over speed.

Trustpair is the market-leading solution for fraud prevention but it’s important to keep in mind that each business has its own specific needs. So, a premium solution for large corporations might not fit your needs as a small business owner.

Launch a test phase on a specific entity

The next step in evaluating fraud prevention solutions is launching a test phase. Here, you can put the technology to work by imitating real-life conditions and evaluating how the program works for identifying fraud in a pre-production or testing environment.

By working this way, you’ll limit the repercussions if it’s not the right system for your organization and make the required changes and optimizations before implementing it across the entire company.

Validate the solution & deploy it

The following step is to validate the solution, by checking how your team and systems respond to it. Here, several factors are important outside of security and fraud prevention:

  • How does your team feel about the program? Is it complicated, or is it easy to use?
  • Does the fraud detection system integrate with your other technology?
  • Is it meeting your demands?

Once you have green lights from each area, it’s time to deploy the platform across your organization.

Train and onboard your finance teams

Finally, you can begin onboarding your teams to the software, implementing new risk management procedures, and training employees on how to use it. This could be facilitated through group sessions, or one-on-one teachings, depending on whether various members of the team will be using different parts of the software.

 

To conclude…

Protecting your business with fraud prevention software will help you to verify merchants’ account information and ultimately detect financial fraud. Anti-fraud platforms use analysis techniques, and data authentication and can alert your team on red flags to prevent various types of fraud.

When deciding between different platforms for fraud mitigation, consider security, flexibility, and pricing. Get in touch with Trustpair to demo the platform today.

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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Browse through our different sections and find the answer to your question.

Fraud prevention solutions exist to secure your systems against a data breach and prevent the misuse of your finances. Automate fraud prevention with a targeted platform to block fraudulent activities

To prevent fraud risks, there are some rules to follow:

  • Train your staff regularly so they can learn to detect fraud signals
  • Apply strict internal control procedures like the segregation of duties
  • Monitor vendor data closely throughout the entire payment chain
  • Use fraud prevention software for automated account validation

Internal control is a necessary step to prevent fraud. It includes all the procedures set up to protect business operations and processes: segregation of duties, 4 eye principle, limited user access to confidential data, etc. It’s also about regularly auditing the procedures in place and updating them if needed.

Internal control is critical and can’t be done 100% manually, especially in large corporations. Fraud prevention solutions like Trustpair automate fraud detection and prevention and make sure all internal control rules are respected in payment processes.