Partnership Enables FICO to Provide Rapid Notification of Confirmed Fraud to Ethoca for Immediate Resolution Through Ethoca’s Global Network of Merchants

Ethoca, the industry standard for collaboration-based technology solutions that enable card issuers and online merchants to increase card acceptance and stop ecommerce fraud and disputes, today announced a partnership with Silicon Valley analytic software firm FICO. Card issuers using the industry-leading FICO® Falcon® Fraud Managerwill be able to easily connect to Ethoca’s Global Collaboration Network to maximise the recovery of card not present (CNP) fraud losses and avoid the costly, inefficient chargeback process.

Card issuers face increasingly high volumes of costly fraud claims and dispute cases that strain operating margins and create a poor cardholder experience. Ethoca’s flagship service – Ethoca Alerts– works hand in hand with FICO’s Falcon software to provide a comprehensive CNP fraud solution that spans every stage of the fraud lifecycle: protection, prevention, alerting, investigation and recovery.

Through this partnership, FICO will provide a flexible range of simple connection options so card issuers can easily participate in Ethoca’s Global Collaboration Network. Issuers who rely on FICO Falcon Fraud Manager can elect to take part in Ethoca’s network through direct integration. While Falcon uses advanced analytics to evaluate and score card transactions for potential fraud, Ethoca Alerts kick in once CNP fraud has been confirmed between a cardholder and their bank. Cases of confirmed fraud reported by card issuers are marked in Falcon and fraudulent CNP transactions are advised to Ethoca for immediate distribution as alerts to more than 5,000 merchant customers globally, covering more than 194,000 merchant descriptors.

Ethoca’s merchant customers act on alerts immediately by stopping the fulfilment of fraudulent orders and issuing cardholders a refund. This faster, more efficient process takes just hours instead of the weeks of delay typical of the chargeback process and prevents criminals from monetising their crimes. Card issuers now eliminate operational costs associated with chargebacks and speed the recovery of dispute and fraud losses, while ensuring a better experience for cardholders.

“At FICO, we’re continuing to strengthen the arsenal of analytics-driven solutions we deliver to our clients and their ecosystem,” said Robert Duque-Ribeiro, Vice-President and General Manager for Fair Isaac Advisors at FICO. “Our partnership with Ethoca broadens our complement of fraud management solutions and expands the partnership between issuers and merchants. This first step in our partnership gives card issuing banks access to the largest card issuer-merchant collaboration network in the world. That means they are now able to recover issuer-liable fraud losses like 3D Secure transactions and low-value transactions they would normally write off, while making the recovery of merchant-liable CNP fraud transactions faster and much more cost-effective. Crucially, the speed with which the Falcon and Ethoca transmission can be effected now enables the card payment system to frustrate and prevent the criminals getting access to value, not simply stop the transaction.”

“Our partnership with FICO is yet another example of Ethoca’s commitment to making collaboration a no-brainer for the world’s leading card issuers and merchants,” said Trevor Clarke, EVP, Business Development, Ethoca. “FICO’s Falcon fraud software is trusted by card issuers looking to reduce fraud losses, mitigate reputational risk and ensure good customers are minimally impacted by false declines. Ethoca shares that vision, and adds a new layer of value – recovery – that can be delivered only through more effective collaboration between card issuers and merchants. Through this partnership, everyone in the payment lifecycle gets more value and enjoys a better experience – except the fraudster.”

FICO® Falcon Fraud Manager is the world’s leading card fraud payment solution, and protects more than 2.6 billion payment cards worldwide.