The Merchant Payments Ecosystem’s annual event, best known as MPE Berlin, is perhaps the highlight of the merchant payments calendar. We just spent 3 days having incredible conversations with top thought leaders in the field of payments and POS solutions. Our expectations were high considering that last year, at MPE 2022, we were named the MPE Awards Best Startup Innovation following a pitch to the judges as well as an audience full of payment and fraud experts. And this year did not disappoint. 

Of the many sessions and conversations covering a wide range of topics, including digital payments, fraud prevention, and biometric authentication, some stood out as thought provoking and particularly relevant to the times. These are the topics that stayed with us:

1. The Power of Data to Enhance Customer Experiences

A positive customer experience is crucial for the success of a business, and technology can be a powerful enabler for it. Specifically, it is possible to leverage payment data to identify and understand patterns and trends and make business decisions that improve the customer experience. Today it is possible to do so while also enhancing compliance, privacy and efficiency. 

Of course, organizations that collect and use payment data must adhere to strict regulations to ensure the protection of their customers' personal data, a cause very close to our hearts (at Identiq we don’t ask for any personal data in order to validate identities). 

2. Digital Identity & Payments Ecosystem

The topics of verifiable credentials, digital identity and their implications for the merchant payments ecosystem were discussed both in sessions as well as in the exhibit hall. Enhancing the customer experience was top of mind while ensuring the security of payment transactions.  Experiencing friction as an online customer is sometimes not only expected, but accepted, when perhaps it shouldn’t be. New technologies, Identiq included, can enable companies to enhance the security and convenience of payments while ensuring a smoother journey for trusted customers. 

3. Staying Ahead of Fraudsters

With the advances in technology come the advances in fraud. The rise in digital payments has made the work of fraud teams in financial institutions, merchants and payment service providers more challenging. 

The use of machine learning and AI was brought up during the MPE conference as they’re both becoming more and more prevalent. The adaptation of biometric authentication, and the implementation of behavioral analytics are habitually used in the industry to identify fraudulent patterns and abnormalities. 

Some of the ways they impact the payments industry are:‍

a) Behavioral analytics: Analyzing user behavior patterns in order to detect anomalies‍

b) Real-time fraud detection: Learning from historical patterns in order to detect fraudulent transactions‍

c) Trust scoring: Assigning a risk score to transactions to allow fraud teams to prioritize fraud investigations and allocate resources accordingly. ‍

d) Automated decision making: Automatic approving or declining payment transactions, taking the workload off manual review teams. 

Overall, our team had a great experience and many productive conversations at MPE this year. As we continue to innovate with our private network for identity validation, we look forward to continuing these conversations on identifying trusted users and fighting fraud in today’s fast-paced digital ecosystem both online and in upcoming events with this wonderful, invigorating community. Until next time! 

Contact us to learn more about our private network for identity validation