In the dynamic world of e-commerce, the line between securing transactions and ensuring a seamless customer experience is finer than ever. We’re joined today by Zainab Hussain, a leading e-commerce strategist, to explore the intricacies of modern commerce protection. We’ll discuss how authentic user feedback is reshaping technology, the crucial role of AI in distinguishing friend from foe in online retail, and why a holistic approach to security is no longer a luxury but a necessity for survival and growth.
Your recent G2 award is based on authentic customer reviews, a kind of “People’s Choice Award.” How does this user-driven validation differ from traditional expert panel awards, and in what specific ways does this direct feedback shape your product roadmap? Please provide a recent example.
It’s incredibly validating and, frankly, it feels more meaningful. Unlike an award decided by a small panel, this comes from the people who use our software every single day—the ones in the trenches dealing with real-world challenges. It’s a direct signal that we’re solving the problems that actually matter to them. This feedback is the lifeblood of our innovation. For example, our customers told us that stopping fraud at checkout was only part of the battle. They were still struggling with painful issues like false declines from banks or managing the complexities of returns. That chorus of feedback directly led us to expand beyond checkout and build out our Commerce Protection Platform to include modules for Authorization Rate Optimization and Return Insights, creating a more holistic solution that addresses the entire buying journey.
In the current economic climate, merchants face a difficult balance between preventing fraud and approving legitimate orders. How does your AI platform distinguish a loyal customer shopping in a new way from a fraudster, and what key metrics demonstrate how this approach boosts revenue?
That’s the core challenge right now, especially when consumers are tightening their spending. Turning away a good customer because their behavior looks slightly unusual is a critical error that legacy systems make all the time. Our AI-driven platform thrives in this gray area by analyzing billions of data points across our global network. It can understand the difference between a loyal customer who is on vacation and using a new device, and a fraudster attempting a sophisticated attack. It sees the broader patterns, not just a few red flags. The most direct metric for success here is the approval rate. By giving our retail partners the confidence to say ‘yes’ to more orders—all of which are financially guaranteed—we directly help them maximize revenue and avoid the gut-wrenching feeling of a sale lost to an overly cautious filter.
Your Commerce Protection Platform extends beyond checkout to include account protection, authorization optimization, and even return insights. Why is this holistic approach critical for modern retailers, and how do these different modules interact to create a truly frictionless customer experience?
The reality is that commerce is no longer a simple, linear path from discovery to checkout. It’s a complex journey, and a customer’s trust can be broken at any point. A holistic approach is critical because vulnerabilities don’t just exist at the point of payment. These modules work together to create a seamless, secure bubble around the entire experience. For instance, strong account protection prevents a fraudster from taking over a loyal customer’s profile in the first place. Then, our authorization optimization works to ensure the bank approves the legitimate transaction, avoiding that frustrating “card declined” message. Finally, by providing return insights, we can even help merchants offer instant refunds to trusted shoppers, turning a potential point of friction into a moment of delight that builds lasting loyalty.
The ecommerce landscape is growing more complex with trends like agentic commerce and evolving omnichannel fulfillment. How do these shifts change the nature of fraud, and what steps are you taking to ensure your platform protects merchants against these future threats?
These shifts are absolutely changing the game. With agentic commerce, where AI assistants might make purchases on a user’s behalf, the traditional signals of identity become blurred. Similarly, complex omnichannel fulfillment—like buy online, pick up in-store—creates new intercept points for fraudsters. The nature of fraud becomes more about identity manipulation and exploiting logistical gaps rather than just stolen credit cards. To stay ahead, we are constantly feeding our AI models with new data from these evolving channels. By understanding the patterns of these new transaction types across our entire network, our platform learns to distinguish legitimate, novel behaviors from fraudulent ones, ensuring we can protect merchants not just from the threats of today, but from the ones that are just over the horizon.
What is your forecast for the future of commerce protection?
I believe the future of commerce protection lies in becoming completely invisible to the good customer while being an insurmountable wall for the bad actor. It will move beyond just a defensive posture of “stopping fraud” and become a proactive engine for growth. We’ll see a deeper integration of AI that doesn’t just approve or decline a transaction but provides merchants with rich insights to personalize experiences, tailor offers, and build profound trust with their customers. Protection will be about enabling relationships and unlocking new revenue opportunities, making security a core component of the customer experience itself, rather than a hurdle to overcome.
