Justin Pike: Keeping Data Safe Without Breaking The Customer Experience

While it may sound counterintuitive, many consumers actually want some friction in the payment process. Friction often provides reassurance of security, and with e-commerce fraud increasing rapidly, such as in the United States where it has risen by 140% since 2020, stronger safeguards are more than welcome.

The digital economy has long moved toward one-click checkouts and seamless shopping. And convenience is important, but not at the expense of trust. Entering a PIN or confirming an identity check may feel like an extra step, but these moments signal to wary consumers that the correct safeguards are in place. People are not resisting convenience, they are seeking confidence.

Building An Ecosystem Of Trust

Trust in digital transactions does not exist in isolation. It relies heavily on an interconnected ecosystem of consumers, merchants, and issuers. Each has different needs, but they all want the same outcome: strong protection, easy transactions, and a sense of confidence that the system works for them.

If even one part of that ecosystem falters, the ripple effect is wide. Inadequate fraud protection creates losses in revenue and trust. On the other hand, overly strict checks frustrate consumers, drive cart abandonment, and erode loyalty. The challenge is finding the balance. 

Data Sharing As The Currency of Trust

Consumers are increasingly open to sharing data to combat fraud. Indeed, studies show that 70% are open to sharing more personal data with merchants. However, this willingness comes with conditions; many expect that any data they provide will be used responsibly, stored securely, and not exploited for purposes beyond fraud prevention, meaning transparency becomes critical. 

When customers see how their information is used, and benefit directly through fewer declines or reduced fraud, data sharing shifts from being a reluctant obligation to the foundation of long-term trust.

Fraud and The Erosion of Confidence

Fraud is not just a financial burden, it’s also a reputational one. The majority of consumers say they would trust a company less, and many would stop using it altogether, if they experienced fraud while transacting. The size of this risk is growing directly as cybercrime becomes more sophisticated, with attackers exploiting the weakest points of digital commerce systems. 

According to Riskified, retailers lose around $100 billion annually due to policy abuses including returns fraud, coupon abuse, and friendly fraud. Merchants are deploying AI, machine learning, and advanced verification to fight back, but fraud evolves just as quickly. Trust between the merchant and customers is therefore paramount.

The Balancing Act Between Security And Experience

The central challenge is clear: how do we safeguard consumer data without undermining the customer experience? Add too much friction, and the experience suffers. Remove it entirely, and trust is lost.

Perhaps the simplest and most effective solution is not to keep evolving anti-fraud technology, but to shift the way we pay online. That is, rather than placing additional verification steps on customers, or adding layers of AI, we simply enable the existing card-present technology, which has worked so successfully in physical stores for several decades, in online channels. 

If every online payment had the same high-assurance event as a tap in a supermarket, with categoric proof of cardholder identity, this eliminates the need for clunky, repeated re-authentication while still delivering the confidence consumers want.

Cybercrime, friendly fraud, false positives etc all stem from uncertainty about who the customer really is. If we remove that uncertainty by making every online purchase card-present, we will see an immediate reduction in chargebacks, disputes, and operational costs, and an increase in loyalty, revenue. and trust.

Why This Matters

Ultimately, consumers want fast, simple, and safe payments. Merchants want frictionless checkouts and higher conversion rates. Issuers want to reduce fraud, protect interchange, and retain loyalty. The common ground is trust. 

As digital commerce continues to expand globally, the payments industry has a rare opportunity to raise the standard for security and experience. Because if issuers and merchants can protect data, reduce fraud, and deliver the seamless confidence consumers are asking for, everyone wins.