Fiserv-Experian Pact Aims to Help Merchants Combat Fraud

Experian has teamed with Fiserv to help merchants stem the tide of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered fraud.

The collaboration involves the addition of real‑time debit card verification for Experian Link, the company’s payment authentication tool, Experian said in a news release Wednesday (May 27).

“As AI accelerates the speed and sophistication of fraud, merchants need precise, instant verification that confirms the customer behind a payment is truly who they say they are without introducing added friction,” said Kathleen Peters, chief innovation officer, fraud and identity at Experian North America.

“By integrating Fiserv’s proprietary debit card data into Experian Link alongside our robust identity and fraud insights, clients can further reduce false declines, lower fraud rates and confidently approve more legitimate customers,” Peters added.

Experian Link will leverage Fiserv’s VerifyNow Advantage with newly improved verification capabilities that determine bank account and debit card ownership verification in real time.

The release noted that the collaboration is happening at a time when generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools are helping fraudsters expand their attacks and mimic consumer behavior, putting more pressure on merchants to tighten risk controls.

But these controls can trigger more false declines, unintentionally blocking legitimate customers, a problem that costs merchants billions per year, the release said.

“Merchants need real‑time intelligence they can trust as payment fraud grows more sophisticated and AI further blurs the line between real and synthetic behavior,” said Dennis Becker, senior vice president of fraud, data and analytics solutions at Fiserv. “By combining debit card verification from Fiserv with Experian’s identity insights and analytics, we’re enabling merchants to validate payments faster and with greater accuracy, strengthening fraud defenses without adding friction for customers.”

As PYMNTS wrote earlier this week, the problem of false declines is compounded by the rise of agentic AI, as “the consumer may never directly participate in the checkout process.”

That report gave the example of an AI assistant authorized to reorder household goods, compare airline pricing or put together a shopping basket across merchants.

“If the transaction is declined because the purchase pattern appears unusual, the consumer may never see a checkout screen or receive context around the rejection,” PYMNTS wrote. “The failed authorization becomes invisible friction. Repeated enough times, it weakens trust not only in the merchant or issuer but in the AI workflow itself.”

False declines are also tough to diagnose in an agentic environment because the transaction path itself can change. Traditional disputes often center around a shopper recognizing a failed purchase and trying again.

“Agentic systems may abandon the attempt, substitute another merchant or alter the purchase decision without intervention,” PYMNTS wrote.