New Experian Link™ Solution Enables Merchants to Improve Conversion Rates and Reduce False Declines

Innovative offering helps online merchants link a consumer’s identity with an online payment method without additional friction for the customer

COSTA MESA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- In a move that will help all merchants that accept digital payments increase online sales and reduce fraud, Experian^® today announced Experian Link™. Experian is the first credit reporting agency to link a consumer’s identity with a payment method in the payment space, enabling businesses to provide customers with a frictionless online experience.

“Now more than ever, businesses must quickly and accurately verify identities in order to increase online sales and minimize fraud risk,” said Kathleen Peters, chief innovation officer, Experian Decision Analytics North America. “Experian Link will empower businesses to confidently recognize, verify and protect consumers while providing a seamless shopping experience.”

Increase online sales without higher fraud losses through Experian Link

Online merchants are regularly challenged by false declines, which occur when a good customer is suspected of fraud and then prevented from completing a purchase. Aite-Novarica Group’s The E-Commerce Fraud Enigma: The Quest to Maximize Revenue While Minimizing Fraud Report found the average false decline rate is 1.16%. With over $960 billion in U.S. online sales in 2021, lost sales due to false declines total more than $11 billion, a substantial impact for merchants and their customers.

Merchants use a variety of solutions to prevent fraud today but many legacy fraud solutions continue to fall short of providing adequate insight into the identity of the customer. Experian Link delivers the opportunity for merchants to augment their real-time decisions with a perspective that links customer identity risks to the credit card being presented for payment.

By accurately matching customers to their credit card, merchants can lessen the impact of false declines and customers enjoy a better, safer shopping experience. The Aite-Novarica Group’s report showed that nearly half of the e-commerce merchants surveyed are tolerating fraud rates between 20 and 49 basis points.

Experian Link can improve that as it provides a positive match rate of 85% for major credit card brands, and when an identity is verified against a credit card, fraud rates can drop to as low as 10 basis points with no added customer friction.

Incorporating Experian Link into the authorization process for digital transactions will help companies build trust with good customers by allowing them to safely sign-up and checkout while spotting potential fraud and reducing decline rates. It can also help merchants reduce operational costs by preventing fraudulent credit card use upfront, lessening expensive manual reviews and chargebacks.

“The data used to authorize an online credit card transaction can be limited, which can make it tough for businesses to verify identities and therefore reduces sales with legitimate customers,” said Julie Conroy, head of risk insights and advisory for Aite-Novarica Group. “Our most recent report found that 88% of surveyed e-commerce merchants are open to new ways to securely share data with issuers to help with their goals of maximizing sales, minimizing friction and reducing false declines. By enabling companies to augment fraud risk assessments with real-time data, they can better achieve their goals.”

Experian Link is another example of Experian’s commitment to helping businesses verify identities, combat fraud, and protect consumers. Experian’s suite of automated fraud prevention and identity verification tools allow businesses across industries to harness the power of data and advanced analytics.

For more information about Experian Link, please visit: https://www.experian.com/business/products/experian-link.

About Experian

Experian is the world’s leading global information services company. During life’s big moments – from buying a home or a car, to sending a child to college, to growing a business by connecting with new customers – we empower consumers and our clients to manage their data with confidence. We help individuals to take financial control and access financial services, businesses to make smarter decisions and thrive, lenders to lend more responsibly, and organizations to prevent identity fraud and crime.

We have 20,600 people operating across 43 countries and every day we’re investing in new technologies, talented people, and innovation to help all our clients maximize every opportunity. We are listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and are a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

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