“The convenience provided by digital transactions far surpasses the fear of fraud among the consumers,” says Ankur Sharma, VP Analytics, Instamojo, in an exclusive interview with IT Security Wire.
ITSW Bureau: People are concerned about digital payment fraud now more than when COVID-19 first emerged. Do you think that this fear is justified?
Ankur Sharma: Yes, because at times of vulnerability, people become more susceptible to social manipulation, which is widely used by fraudsters to get secure financial data out of people.
ITSW Bureau: Do you think that vulnerability to fraud is hindering the acceptance and adoption of digital transactions?
Ankur Sharma: The convenience provided by digital transactions far surpasses the fear of fraud among the consumers, which is resulting in a consistent rise in digital payment adoption in developing economies like India. Payment gateway companies can provide education and awareness to their users about various kinds of frauds, and methods to prevent them, welcoming a user to the world of online payments while preparing them to best face the risks posed by the fraudsters.
ITSW Bureau: What types of digital payment frauds are most prevalent in India?
Ankur Sharma: There are three common digital payment frauds. The first is impersonation, where the fraudster pretends to be a bank employee. The second is trickery, where they send a QR code that pulls money to the cybercriminal’s account instead of pushing it to the user account. The third is stealing a phone, which results in identity fraud.
ITSW Bureau: How can payment gateways fortify their platform to make it more robust and difficult for cybercriminals to hack?
Ankur Sharma: They can have consistent real-time monitoring of transactions and take preventive actions to block fraudsters out. They can also continuously monitor the profile and behavior of merchants using the platform to collect payments. Additionally, they should conduct regular audits of security systems through which sensitive information passes.
ITSW Bureau: How are companies with an omnichannel presence trying to embrace the increased digitization in payments? How are they innovating to strengthen their enterprise network to deal with increased digital payment while managing customer loyalty?
Ankur Sharma: They can start with easier ways to adopt digital payments, treating them as an aid to their traditional payment channels. Instamojo’s Payment Links serve as an easy to set up assistant for an enterprise that has customers across different channels, as the time to adopt is very less, and customers feel very comfortable when presented with a familiar mode of transactions (links over SMS, for example).
Ankur Sharma, VP – Analytics, Instamojo
Ankur Sharma is head of analytics at Instamojo, a payment gateway company that he has been associated with for close to five years. Before that, he held the same position in Kiwi India for almost three years. An enthusiast for all things data, he was the Senior Data Analyst at Capital One Auto Finance for over two years. He started his career as an associate engineer at Kony Labs in 2009.
