For over half of online businesses (55 per cent) an increased risk of fraudulent payment transactions has been one of the greatest concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s according to international research from specialised payments platform Paysafe.
The survey also found that businesses feel the same concern is reflected by their customers. 60 per cent of online businesses believe consumers are more concerned than ever about being a victim of fraud following COVID-19 and 76 per cent have already noticed a change in the way their customers are making payments. When asked why, the highest number of respondents 40 per cent said they felt that consumers are looking for a more secure payment method.
The findings form part of Paysafe’s most recent addition to its ‘Lost in Transaction’ research report series – How Covid-19 has reshapes the SMB checkout – in which 1,100 small to medium sized businesses globally which operate online were asked about the effects of COVID-19 on their business.
The importance of security for businesses when it comes to accepting online payment was also highlighted as a key trend in Paysafe’s research from 2018 and 2019, and despite an unprecedented year of new challenges it remains the primary payments concern for businesses. With 45 per cent of respondents placing it in their top three most important factors to consider when evaluating a payments provider, security was ranked as higher priority than reliability (36 per cent), cost (34 per cent), and ease of integration (22 per cent). Yet the solutions aren’t necessarily straightforward – 58 per cent reported that they find it hard to strike a balance between improving security processes and making the online customer journey as quick and easy as possible.
Commenting on the research, Danny Chazonoff, chief operating officer at Paysafe, said: “Protecting ourselves from fraud has long been reported as a concern among businesses and consumers, but our research shows that security has become more of a priority than ever, and there are a few reasons for this. The economic impact of COVID-19 has led to a natural desire from both consumers and businesses to protect their finances. Coupled with that, we know that criminal activity such as fraud historically rises during national and global crises, and this pandemic has been no exception.”
Paysafe research among 8,000 consumers conducted in April this year highlighted that protection against loss from fraud (34 per cent) and keeping financial data safe from fraudsters (32 per cent) were the two main reasons for consumers to choose a payment method.
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