Survey: US Retailers Face Fraud, Currency Barriers In Global Online Sales

A new survey has found that the biggest obstacles hindering online retailers from doing business abroad is fraud prevention, and currency and payment processing.

Fraud protection provider Kount and all-in-one payment platform BlueSnap released the Internet Retailer survey and report, which revealed that global eCommerce will top $3 trillion this year for the first time, with international consumers increasingly shopping online. In fact, North America’s top 1000 eRetailers have sold $143 billion worth of goods to customers outside the U.S., and more than half of online shoppers have already purchased goods outside their country.

However, the survey reported that less than half of U.S. retailers ship outside the country due to fraud concerns, as well as the challenge of accepting foreign currencies and payments. With that in mind, Kount and BlueSnap have teamed up for an all-in-one solution, combining Kount’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital fraud protection with BlueSnap’s payment platform, which handles payment processing in more than 100 currencies and via 110 payment methods.

“The combination of BlueSnap and Kount clears the way for retailers and brands to serve the hundreds of millions of consumers around the world ready to buy from their websites,” said Rich Stuppy, chief customer experience officer at Kount, in a press release. “Our integrated fraud prevention and payments processing solution enables retailers to benefit from the strengths of both companies, while getting reports from a single source and managing a single technology platform.”

In addition, Kount revealed that it has been awarded three new patents related to fraud protection services. These latest patents bring the company’s total number of patents to more than 30, which includes patents for device fingerprinting and proxy piercing.

“With today’s fraud landscape, we are seeing a need for merchants and digital businesses to turn to new AI-driven fraud prevention platforms,” said Steven D’Alfonso, research director with IDC Financial Insights, in a press release. “These platforms must be flexible and configurable to meet the challenges of current and emerging payment fraud trends. Kount’s latest innovations, such as its AI-driven technology, are key to helping the company maintain its momentum and differentiation.”