Wirecard AG Expands Range of Risk Management Services

MUNICH, Germany, July 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

• Automated Fraud Recognition is no Longer a Black Box
• New Business Intelligence Tools Optimize Defense Against Fraud

Starting today, online retailers can enjoy the benefits of Munich-based Wirecard AG's new business intelligence tools.

These enable shop operators to estimate the effectiveness of the risk management strategy that they employ. In addition, they also benefit from the maximum amount of transparency on how central fraud parameters develop over time. The advantages are obvious: shop operators have greater control of fraud as it occurs, thus allowing them to optimize their revenues.

By adding this new offering Wirecard AG has expanded its successful Fraud Prevention Suite, a risk management system that identifies suspicious data and/or behavior patterns in real time. This offers tried-and-trusted added value for online retailers: for example, one Wirecard customer has used Fraud Prevention Suite to slash the number of fraud cases for card-based payments in their online shop by around 90 percent.

"We can now offer customers who already use the Fraud Prevention Suite another tool to optimize their defense against fraud. The sophisticated analysis features show the extent to which rule-based fraud recognition impacts the success of the business. We believe that this type of overview will also be of interest to shop operators who were previously skeptical about automated tests," noted Heiner Kallweit, Head of Product Line Risk & Fraud Prevention at Wirecard AG.

In concrete terms, the new business intelligence tools portray information to online retailers using transparent graphs. This allows, for example, changes in fraud parameters such as the chargeback or fraud rate to be tracked over time.

The new solutions also provide an overview of transactions which the card-issuing banks report as fraud to the card companies for credit card payments. If the retailers use the Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode security methods, the card-issuing bank is liable in the event of fraud. This reversal of liability means that the retailer is only informed of cases of fraud in the event of a return debit. Additional information, which can be provided as a result of the close links between Acquiring and Technical Services within the Wirecard Group, gives retailers a top-level view of the overall picture. This end-to-end data allows the company to constantly adjust its risk management. At the same time, retailers ensure that they meet the card companies' formal requirements with regard to permissible fraud rates.

According to the UK Card Association*, for example, just 19 percent of credit card fraud in the UK stems from the use of counterfeit cards. 61 percent of all losses from card fraud result from what is known as "card not present fraud". In these cases, card data obtained illegally is used for online payments or postal and telephone orders.

It is therefore not surprising that payment security and risk management are now a top priority for online retailers. Wirecard AG's risk management systems offer effective protection against fraud and also payment defaults resulting from creditworthiness issues for all standard methods of payment. They thus allow sales potential to be fully exploited at minimum risk.

*European Payment Cards Yearbook 2010/2011

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About Wirecard AG

Wirecard AG is one of the leading international providers of electronic payment and risk management solutions. Worldwide, the Wirecard Group supports over 12,000 companies from a wide range of industry segments in automating their payment processes and minimizing cases of default. Wirecard Bank AG is a Principal Member of Visa, MasterCard and JCB and operates as a credit card acquirer in 69 countries around the world, involving over 100 transaction currencies and 15 payout currencies. Part of the Wirecard Group, Wirecard Bank provides innovative solutions in the fields of corporate banking, prepaid and co-branded cards, along with account products for both business and private customers.  

Wirecard AG is listed on the Frankfurt Securities Exchange (TecDAX, ISIN DE0007472060, WDI).  

http://www.wirecard.com |  http://www.wirecardbank.com  |  http://www.mywirecard.com

Wirecard media contacts:

    Iris Stöckl                           Maren Brandt
    Dir. IR/PR                            PR Manager
    Einsteinring 35                       Einsteinring 35
    D-85609 Aschheim                      D-85609 Aschheim
    Tel.: +49(0)89-4424-1424              Tel.: +49(0)89-4424-1425
    Fax: +49(0)89-4424-2424               Fax: +49(0)89-4424-2425
    E-mail: iris.stoeckl@wirecard.com     E-mail: maren.brandt@wirecard.com