PayFort seeks to boost security of e-payments

Dubai: E-commerce in the Arab world is set to receive a boost in security through a new online payment gateway, PayFort, which was launched on Monday at the ArabNet Digital Summit.

Internet penetration in the Mena (Middle East and North Africa) region has been accompanied by a rise in e-commerce and online shopping. The UAE has the highest e-commerce penetration, with a rate of 67 per cent, according to industry data.

PayFort aims to arrange a system of secure online payment in order to address trust issues merchants in the region may face with online payment platforms.

“One of the areas that we felt we want to solve is trust,” said Omar Soudodi, managing director of PayFort. “A lot of merchants when they go online, they are always concerned about fraud.”

The company aims to address these issues by the use of fraud detection modules which are designed to help merchants detect anomalies during transactions, block attempts by recognised fraudsters, and apply customised security policies. PayFort has over 20,000 rules to safeguard against fraud detection, according to Soudodi.

PayFort is also looking to enhance user experience by means of systems such as Pay At Home, a reversal of the cash-on-delivery concept. Money is collected from the customer’s house after which the merchant approves the transaction and ships the order. “The more blocks you put in front of a user, the less they will convert to become a buyer,” said Soudodi.

— Jerusha Sequeira is an intern with Gulf News.