Mega payment and P2P apps AliPay and WeChat Pay have launched new fraud and loss prevention capabilities for their respective apps. This is needed as the users of these apps in Asia have few consumer protections to rely upon when transactions are misdirected or fraudulent. The new solution requires the user to know or suspect ahead of time that they transaction may not be completely on the up-and-up. An article in CGTN, although a little light on specifics, explains that part of the solution is to slow down these real time transactions in order provide the time for an adequate review:
The Alibaba-backed Alipay’s upgraded system help users get back funds that are mistakenly transferred to the wrong account or if they’ve sent an incorrect amount. Its Chinese rival, Tencent’s WeChat Wallet, already has measures to delay the transfer process to protect users.
Alipay’s new system also optimizes its anti-fraud mechanism, integrating it with law enforcement databases. For users who suspect that a transfer is fraudulent, they can choose to delay the payment and raise an alert on the platform, thereby freezing the transfer. The money will then be credited back to the user’s account if authorities determine that fraud has been committed.
Alipay can also flag a transfer that is deemed risky based on the recipient’s transaction history and other behaviors, and notify users to delay the transfer.
Overview by Sarah Grotta, Director, Debit and Alternative Products Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
