Signicat, SurePay Link Up To Combat B2B Payment Fraud

Digital identity solutions provider Signicat is partnering with payment information firm SurePay to combat B2B payments fraud.

A press release published on Signicat’s website on Monday (Dec. 2) said Signicat will integrate SurePay’s bank account verification solution within Signicat’s Digital Identity Platform, allowing financial institutions and businesses in the Netherlands to automatically authenticate a payee’s identity with its bank account details. Payers are warned of any mismatch between payee identity and bank account information in real time in an effort to combat identity and payments fraud, the firms said.

SurePay, owned by Rabobank, offers an Account Check solution that automates identity verification against an International Bank Account Number (IBAN) and SurePay’s proprietary database before transactions are initiated. Payers can obtain feedback about a beneficiary before they make payments and release funds, warning businesses of a discrepancy and the need for further due diligence.

In the announcement, SurePay pointed to the need for businesses procuring goods or paying out salaries to deploy dual-step verification, which “enforces greater transparency that the payment is directed to the intended end-user.”

SurePay’s solution can also remedy issues pertaining to spelling errors, automatically finding the closest match against given information to accelerate the exceptions and due diligence process. The company is also able to identify multiple account holders for a single business account, or identify if that account is closed.

Signicat also noted that it will integrate the Dutch electronic identification (eID) to further verify user identities beyond name and address.

“By verifying account holders at the point of payment, bank and identity fraud diminishes by 72 percent in online banking,” said SurePay Co-Founder Marcel Rienties in a statement. “Not to mention a 90 percent decrease … of failure in the on-boarding process of new customers. By integrating the check-in at the payee on-boarding stage both customers and suppliers have found it to prevent dropouts for second line investigation.”

“Building trust between businesses and customers online is critical in the digital age,” added Signicat CEO Gunnar Nordseth in another statement. “Working with innovative solutions providers, such as SurePay, helps us provide businesses and end-users with pioneering and user-friendly solutions, whilst reducing payment risks and fraud. SurePay makes it easier for companies to connect when multiple checks are involved.”