Experian has launched real-time debit card verification services for its Experian Link service via a collaboration with Fiserv, hoping to assist merchants with improved fraud prevention and fewer transactions that get declined unnecessarily.
The improved feature enables merchants to validate the authenticity of a debit card during an online transaction, ensuring that the person behind the purchase is the actual holder of the card. The inclusion of the feature has come amid increased instances of frauds enabled by advanced AI technologies capable of mimicking consumers’ actions and automating the process of committing fraud.
Experian Link combines identity verification with payment authentication by connecting a user’s digital identity to the payment method being used. Through the integration of Fiserv’s VerifyNow Advantage technology, merchants gain access to real-time bank account and debit card ownership validation, improving decision-making accuracy during payment approvals.
“As AI accelerates the speed and sophistication of fraud, merchants need precise, instant verification that confirms the customer behind a payment is truly who they say they are without introducing added friction,” said Kathleen Peters, Chief Innovation Officer, Fraud & Identity at Experian North America. “By integrating Fiserv’s proprietary debit card data into Experian Link alongside our robust identity and fraud insights, clients can further reduce false declines, lower fraud rates and confidently approve more legitimate customers.”
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This collaboration is the first time debit card information has been added to Experian Link. Still, the firm is planning to include more debit data suppliers in the future to increase the reach of payment methods and upgrade the ability to detect fraud.
Attempts to cut the volume of false declines have risen to the level of an essential problem for stores and payment service providers, since controls on fraud that are too tight cause legitimate transactions to be blocked, sometimes without any intention. Experian has estimated that these declines result in loss of sales and deterioration of customer relationships to the tune of several billion dollars per year for the merchants.
“Merchants need real-time intelligence they can trust as payment fraud grows more sophisticated and AI further blurs the line between real and synthetic behavior,” said Dennis Becker, Senior Vice President of Fraud, Data & Analytics Solutions at Fiserv. “By combining debit card verification from Fiserv with Experian’s identity insights and analytics, we’re enabling merchants to validate payments faster and with greater accuracy, strengthening fraud defenses without adding friction for customers.”
Since launching in 2022, Experian Link has reportedly helped businesses improve approval rates and recover significant revenue from transactions previously flagged as suspicious.