Choosing the Best Merchant Fraud Filter for your Shopify Store

As a merchant, you need to be able to accept payments globally with the peace of mind that your Shopify payment processing solution will protect your business and the customers. 

eCommerce platforms, such as Shopify, have enabled merchants to establish a successful online presence quickly. However, accessing overseas markets and pursuing lucrative sales opportunities also increases exposure to fraud. You need to build your customer base while remaining aware that fraud attempts will continue as cyber-criminals look to take advantage of any vulnerabilities. 

According to Juniper research, fraudulent online activities will cost online retailers over $20 billion in 2021, an 18% increase from the previous year. (Payments Dive)

The challenge for Shopify merchants is to ensure that their payment provider does not inadvertently deny legitimate transactions. With high and growing fraud rates, tools that detect and block suspicious transactions are critical to protecting the business, but if used too restrictively it can negatively impact customers.

How to Choose the Best Merchant Fraud Filter for your Shopify Store

Why use a merchant fraud filter for your Shopify store?

Shopify merchants can use a fraud filter to warn of a fraudulent transaction or cancel the order entirely. The filter can be configured to control the number of sales to prevent fraudsters from testing stolen credit card numbers, or the size of the transaction can be limited to flag any unusually large purchases. A fraud filter can also be set to automatically cancel transactions where the billing and shipping addresses do not match.

Not All Fraud Monitoring Solutions are Created Equal

To effectively manage Shopify fraud prevention, businesses need to ensure payment method acceptance, monitoring and buyer identity verification are all optimized. High fraud rates negatively impact the reputation of the business and erode customer trust. If the rate is deemed too high, major credit card companies will revoke a merchant’s right to process payments – seriously limiting future growth potential. 

You first need to understand your risk tolerance and what constitutes a high-risk transaction, so you can select the solution to secure Shopify payment processing that is right for your business. There are five key questions to ask when evaluating Shopify payment providers.

1: Is Fraud Monitoring Included? 

Fraud management requires a specialized solution that can be configured to address the specific needs of the business. As Shopify merchants focus on growing and keeping their customers happy, they may not have the experience and skill to build the necessary fraud management capabilities. Choosing a global payments processor that provides an integrated fraud protection solution not only protects the business but can also allow resources to work more efficiently and effectively as your business grows. 

2: Can Customers Pay Using their Preferred Payment Methods?

Shopify payment processing should offer a variety of payment options and it is important that the solution protects multiple payment methods, including cards, bank transfers and ewallets. Cards continue to be a popular payment method, but around the world, payment preferences vary significantly by country. 

3: Can the Solution be Customized? 

The ideal solution allows the business to define the rules and adjust settings based on different countries or regions where payments are accepted and their individual risk tolerances. Rules can be customized to limit or reject transactions considered to be high-risk, either due to the nature of the transaction or the location of payment origination. In situations where the risk is concerning but not immediately determined to be fraudulent, transactions can be manually reviewed before the purchase is completed.

4: Is the Solution Cost Efficient?

There are two ways to think about the costs of managing fraud; as a business investment and as a sale enabler. Firstly, good fraud management is an investment that can improve the overall growth of the business, in terms of raising the approval rate and minimizing chargebacks. Fraud filters also allow for secure expansion into new markets, which should be a factor in the cost calculation.

5: Does the Solution Support International Expansion? 

The payment processor selected should accept as many international payment methods as possible and scale seamlessly as your business expands into new markets. While presenting these payment options to customers at checkout, the processor also needs to manage Shopify fraud prevention – protecting both your business and the transaction.

Some payment processors only accept credit card payments and do not consider the variety of payment preferences in different countries. If you limit customer payment methods and do not present the preferred methods in those markets, your sales will be limited. 

The Best Merchant Fraud Filter for Shopify Limits Fraud and Enables Growth

The best payment processors include built-in fraud protection that will allow you to focus on growth, knowing that your business and customers are protected. Rapyd is also the only fraud prevention solution that comes with the world’s largest local payments network, protecting you against fraud while accepting or sending payments.

Learn more about the Rapyd Payments Plugin for Shopify and add robust built-in security to your Shopify Store.  

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