More than half of businesses have reported that fraud is a growing concern, with particular impact on businesses offering B2B SaaS products and B2C subscriptions, according to a new report from Stripe.
The report revealed that nearly three-quarters of businesses have diverted engineering resources, and more than half have curtailed expansion plans, due to fraud concerns.
The volume and sophistication of fraud varies dramatically across markets, requiring tools that adapt to local fraud patterns. France had nearly twice the fraud rate of Germany, while Singapore experienced half the rate of the wider Asia-Pacific region.
“Fraud doesn’t slow down when the economy does. It’s vital for businesses to maximise the value of every dollar by turning away as many fraudulent actors as possible without blocking good customers—and this report shows them how they can do it,” Stripe Radar product lead, Will Megson said.
Business leaders face tough choices about how to respond – the more they try to prevent fraud, the more likely they are to block legitimate charges. The report identifies the optimal sensitivity for a fraud model depending on a business’s margins—the higher the margins, the less sensitive the model should be.
Over the last year, Stripe has invested substantially in its fraud prevention tools to help businesses maximise resource allocation. In 2021, Radar reduced dispute rates by 40%, and new improvements this year are helping businesses including 7-Eleven, AdBlock, the British Council, Deliveroo, and Kickstarter, save money across the transaction flow, generating revenue and freeing resources.
Regular updates to Radar’s machine learning models block more fraud while letting through more good customers. Stripe estimates one incremental improvement made in May blocks AUD$58 million more fraud and recovers an additional AUD$103 million in revenue for users every year.