Kount, a fraud management platform that uses artificial intelligence, has just been acquired by Equifax for $60 million. This move will help Equifax to improve its ability to handle chargebacks and fraud, and it will also allow the company to fine-tune its trust level with businesses.
Equifax pays $60 million for Kount
Equifax, a global leader in consumer information, recently announced its acquisition of fraud prevention company Kount. This deal will help Equifax expand its presence in digital identity while adding a powerful set of data and analytics offerings.
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021. Equifax plans to integrate Kount’s products into its Luminate fraud platform. In addition to the acquisition, the companies have agreed to collaborate on various initiatives to improve customer Urdughr authentication.
Equifax has also committed to using AI to fight fraud. The company has opened an AI lab in partnership with IBM. Using machine learning to make smarter defenses is becoming more important as the cost of loss increases.
Kount’s AI-driven fraud prevention solution helps businesses avoid fraudulent transactions. It uses machine learning to analyze billions of data signals. By linking trust and fraud data signals, it gives businesses more control over how they manage and block transactions. Among other things, the Kount system can determine whether an identity is trusted.
Artificial intelligence helps lower fraud and minimize chargebacks
The recent acquisition of Kount by Equifax should help reduce payment fraud and minimize chargebacks worldwide. The companies are working together to provide a comprehensive AI-based fraud prevention solution.
Equifax is a leading provider of information and services to consumers. In addition to providing credit reporting, Equifax offers a comprehensive fraud management platform that uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to deliver insights. As a result, the two companies have collaborated to develop a powerful AI-driven fraud solution that will enhance the customer experience.
By integrating Kount’s innovative solutions into its Luminate fraud platform, Equifax will be able to protect its customers against fraudulent account takeovers. This will also help it better protect customers against payment fraud, such as identity theft.
Equifax will also use Kount’s patented AI-based technology to identify fraud and prevent chargebacks. By analyzing billions of data points in real time, Kount is able to make accurate decisions in less than 250 milliseconds.
For example, Kount’s Identity Trust Global Network connects data from 32 billion digital interactions annually. It analyzes real-time connections between identity elements and provides a level of trust for each identity.
Luminate fraud platform to include Kount products
Equifax plans to incorporate Kount products into its Luminate fraud platform, which will allow consumers to experience a more personalized, seamless customer experience. The platform will provide an integrated view of digital transactions for businesses and consumers, while leveraging the company’s data assets to detect and prevent fraud.
Equifax’s Luminate platform offers businesses a comprehensive AI-driven solution for fraud prevention and management. It orchestrates several solutions, including a private data warehouse, machine learning analytics, and a data network. This helps companies target application fraud and stay one step ahead of fraud trends. Moreover, the system provides a high performance integrated view of digital transactions.
The company will also expand its global footprint in the digital identity space. In July, Equifax bought Ansonia Credit Data and PayNet, a provider of credit and analytics for SMBs. By combining these two data assets with its own, the company is targeting a $35 billion addressable market annually.
Luminate’s powerful analytics help retailers and financial institutions protect their customers from fraudulent activity. Using a variety of third-party and internal data sources, the system eliminates manual processes and delivers real-time fraud insights.
AI helps businesses fine-tune the level of trust in their systems
In the era of AI, businesses must understand how to fine-tune the level of trust in their systems. This can include understanding how to assess the business impact of a new algorithm. It can also mean understanding how to avoid unexpected outcomes.
One approach is to require the system to explain its decisions. While this may be daunting, it can help to mitigate the risks associated with using AI.
An example of a use case in which a business may need to explain how an AI recommendation is derived is a loan application. Loan officers may need to know why the system decided to approve or reject a loan.
Another use case is in a security situation. In this scenario, the precision and recall tradeoff may need to be weighed. There will be a need to correct for bias, and the data may need to be incomplete.
Finally, a business’s risk function or diversity office might need to be assured that an AI engine is not biased. As AI evolves, regulatory requirements will increase.