Latest from Finextra
Finextra
4 hours ago
- Business
- Finextra
Anthropic unveils Claude for Financial Services
Anthropic, the AI startup backed by Amazon and Google, has launched a tool to help finance professionals analyse markets, conduct research, and make investment decisions with its Claude models. 0 Financial Analysis Solution gives analysts access to the latest Claud 4 models, as well as Claude Code and Claude for Enterprise with expanded usage limits, and implementation support. The technology promises to unify users' financial data — from market feeds to internal data stored in platforms like Databricks and Snowflake — into a single interface so that Claude can be used to analyse it. Anthropic says Financial Analysis Solution was built with leading financial and enterprise technology providers, giving Claude the ability to instantly check information across multiple sources. The firm says Claude accelerates investment and analysis workflows including due diligence and market research, competitive benchmarking and portfolio deep dives, financial modeling with full audit trails, and generating institutional-quality investment memos and pitch decks. Financial Analysis Solution is already available on AWS Marketplace, with Google Cloud Marketplace availability coming soon. Nicolai Tangen, CEO of investment bank NBIM, says: "Claude has fundamentally transformed the way we work at NBIM. With Claude, we estimate that we have achieved ~20% productivity gains - equivalent to 213,000 hours."
Finextra
5 hours ago
- Business
- Finextra
How to Increase Transaction Success Rates for Online Merchants: By Jurijs Bordulans
In online commerce, every successful transaction counts. When a payment fails — due to fraud checks, technical issues, or user error — it can result in lost revenue and a frustrated customer who may not return. For merchants, improving transaction success rates isn't just about fixing errors behind the scenes; it's about creating a smooth, reliable experience that keeps customers coming back. With global e-commerce sales projected to reach nearly $8 trillion by 2028 (eMarketer), merchants face losses of up to $448 billion annually from payment fraud, false declines, and abuse of returns and refunds — a growing challenge that impacts revenue and customer trust. Data from the Baymard Institute indicates that transaction success rates range from 56% to 84%, depending on the industry and setup. On average, about 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned, leaving only 30% of transactions completed successfully. In high-risk sectors like online gaming, approval rates are often lower, typically 50–60%, due to stringent fraud controls and higher chargeback risks. 1. Why Payments Fail Payment failures happen for all sorts of reasons — some financial, some technical, others tied to fraud checks or customer behaviour. Here are the most common ones: Insufficient Funds A simple one: the customer doesn't have enough money in their account. You can't control that, but you can offer other payment methods — like digital wallets or buy-now-pay-later — which might save the sale. A Kipp study found that 44.4% of online transaction declines are due to insufficient funds. This means that roughly a quarter to nearly half of all declined online transactions occur because the customer's card lacks sufficient funds. Card Declined by the Bank Issuing banks often decline transactions for reasons beyond insufficient funds. These can include suspected fraudulent activity, transactions in unusual locations or currencies, or bank policies that flag certain purchases as risky. Expired or Outdated Cards When customers use expired or replaced cards (due to loss, theft, or reissuance), the transaction fails if updated card information isn't provided. This issue is common with recurring payments and subscriptions. Payment Provider Issues Sometimes, the root cause of a failed transaction is technical difficulties on the payment provider's side. This can include system outages, slow response times, or errors in the integration between the merchant's platform and the payment processor, which can disrupt valid payments. Authentication Problems Security protocols such as 3D Secure require customers to complete additional verification steps during checkout. If these steps fail to load properly, are confusing, or the customer abandons them, the transaction will be declined or left incomplete. Overly Aggressive Fraud Filters Fraud detection systems designed to protect merchants can sometimes be too strict, resulting in legitimate transactions being flagged and declined. This often affects new customers, unusual purchasing patterns, or transactions from less common regions, leading to false positives. Technical or Checkout Issues Problems within the merchant's checkout process — such as broken buttons, missing required fields, incorrect currency settings, or lack of browser compatibility — can prevent customers from completing payments. These technical issues are often overlooked but can impact conversion rates. Below are five essential strategies to help reduce payment failures and improve your overall transaction success rate. 2. Optimise Your Payment Gateway Setup Your payment gateway does more than process cards — it can make or break your transaction success rate. Ensure you're using a gateway that suits your business, supports the countries you sell to, integrates smoothly with your checkout flow, and allows sufficient control to adjust settings as needed. Rely on Multiple Acquirers Relying on a single acquirer puts all your eggs in one basket. Using multiple acquirers lets merchants route transactions smarter — for example, sending European cards to a European bank. If one route fails, another can take over. A study by ACI Worldwide and Edgar, Dunn & Company found that 85% of merchants with multiple acquirer relationships saw increased conversion rates, with 23% reporting a rise of over 10%. Failover Systems If the main payment provider is down or slow, your setup should automatically switch to a backup without disrupting the customer. This keeps transactions flowing during outages. Retries for Soft Declines Soft declines occur due to temporary issues, such as network glitches or card spending limits. Retrying the transaction after a few seconds can often turn a failed attempt into a success, recovering sales that might be lost. Smart Retries Use data to determine the best time to retry failed payments, especially those declined for insufficient funds. For recurring billing, this can reduce payment failures by up to 30% through optimised retry timing and intelligent dunning strategies. A well-configured gateway setup helps recover failed payments before the customer notices an issue. 3. Improve the Checkout Experience for Better Success Rates Creating a seamless and user-friendly checkout experience is key to turning visitors into paying customers. According to Baymard, over 70% of mobile shoppers abandon their carts, often due to complicated or slow checkout flows. Improving the experience and functionality of your payment process can significantly reduce cart abandonment and increase successful transactions. Here are some essential elements to focus on: Clear Checkout Flow Make the payment process simple and straightforward. Break it down into easy steps, avoid asking for unnecessary information, and clearly show customers where they are and what to do next. This helps reduce confusion and lowers the chance of people abandoning their carts. Real-Time Card Validation Make sure your checkout system checks the card details as customers enter them. This means errors, such as incorrect numbers or expired dates, are flagged immediately so buyers can correct them on the spot. Setting up real-time validation reduces failed transactions from simple mistakes and helps smooth the payment process. Multiple Payment Options Not everyone wants to pay the same way. Offer a variety of payment methods like credit and debit cards, popular digital wallets, local payment methods, and buy-now-pay-later options. The more choices you provide, the easier it is for customers to find a method that works. According to the Digital Economy Payments report by PYMNTS, 15% of consumers use at least three or more payment methods, with at least two being non-traditional methods, such as digital wallets, cryptocurrency, or buy-now-pay-later (BNPL). Mobile Optimisation Many shoppers use their phones, so your checkout must work smoothly on all devices. Make sure buttons are easy to tap, pages load quickly, and the layout adapts well to smaller screens. A mobile-friendly checkout keeps customers engaged throughout the purchase process. 4. Leverage Smart Transaction Routing One of the most effective ways to boost approval rates is smart transaction routing, which directs each payment through the path most likely to succeed. Instead of sending every transaction through a single acquirer or processor, merchants can route payments dynamically based on factors like card type (debit vs. credit), issuing bank, customer location, or the historical performance of a route. For instance, if an acquirer often declines cards from a specific country, the system can reroute those transactions elsewhere. Modern payment orchestration platforms and advanced Payment Service Providers (PSPs) offer tools to support this logic. Many PSPs use AI and machine learning to monitor performance data in real-time, identifying which factors lead to success or failure and adjusting routing rules accordingly. This allows routing strategies to improve over time without manual intervention. For high-volume or international merchants, this setup can significantly reduce declines caused by mismatches between issuer expectations and processor behaviour. Smart payment routing can increase approval rates by 10–15% on average. Solutions like Adaptive Acceptance leverage machine learning to optimise transaction submissions to issuers, refining message formatting and routing paths. This can recover up to 10% of falsely declined payments, unlocking billions in potential revenue for merchants. 5. Reduce False Declines with Better Fraud Prevention False declines — when legitimate transactions are mistakenly blocked — are a growing issue for online merchants. They not only cost sales but also erode customer trust. Balancing fraud prevention with high approval rates is critical. False declines are a costly problem, with global losses reaching $443 billion annually, far surpassing actual fraud losses. In fact, 62% of online merchants report rising false decline rates over the past two years, underscoring the need for smarter fraud prevention and approval optimisation strategies. To reduce false declines while protecting against fraud, merchants should adopt a tailored, intelligent approach. Here are three key ways: Customise Fraud Rules to Fit Your Business Model Generic fraud rules may suit broad scenarios, but often fail to reflect your specific customer base. By tailoring fraud logic to your product type, transaction patterns, and user behaviour, you can filter out real threats without blocking legitimate activity. This fine-tuning is vital for industries like digital goods, travel, or subscriptions, where standard spending patterns may not apply. Use Machine Learning–Driven Fraud Solutions Unlike rigid, rule-based systems, modern fraud prevention tools powered by machine learning adapt to evolving customer behaviour. These systems analyse thousands of variables in real-time, making smarter decisions. Over time, they become more accurate at distinguishing legitimate from fraudulent transactions, significantly reducing false positives while securing your store. Use 3D Secure 2.0 (3DS2) for Smarter Authentication 3D Secure 2.0, an updated payment authentication standard, supports compliance with regulations like PSD2 in Europe. When used effectively, 3DS2 reduces false declines through risk-based authentication, allowing low-risk transactions to proceed without extra steps while flagging suspicious ones for verification. This balances strong security with minimal friction, especially for mobile shoppers, who often abandon purchases if the process feels cumbersome. 6. Work Closely with Payment Partners to Improve Success Rates Your PSP and acquirer are more than vendors — they're key partners in transaction success. Working closely with them helps identify hidden issues and implement targeted improvements to boost approval rates. To foster strategic collaboration with payment partners and enhance approval rates, adopt a proactive approach. Here are three tips: Conduct Regular, In-Depth Performance Reviews Go beyond surface metrics by analysing approval rates by region, issuer, and payment method. Work with your PSP to access detailed transaction data and pinpoint issues affecting success rates. Gain a Clear Understanding of Decline Reasons Issuer decline codes are often vague. Collaborate with your PSP to gain context and identify patterns behind declines. This insight is crucial for addressing root causes and improving authorisation outcomes. Collaborate on Routing and Optimisation Strategies Use advanced PSP tools like intelligent routing, retry logic, and dynamic risk scoring. Ensure these are tailored to your business needs through ongoing optimisation with your payment partners. A proactive, collaborative relationship with your payment partners can drive measurable gains in revenue and customer satisfaction. Conclusion Improving transaction success rates isn't about one big fix — it's about optimising every step, from checkout to fraud screening to backend routing. By understanding payment failures, refining your gateway setup, ensuring a seamless user experience, and leveraging smarter tools and partnerships, merchants can recover lost revenue and retain customers.
Finextra
5 hours ago
- Business
- Finextra
Xero to triple high-quality bank feed connections in the US through Plaid partnership
Xero, the global small business platform, today announced a strategic partnership with Plaid, a leading financial data network, to eventually triple the number of high-quality bank feeds available to customers in the United States. 0 This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. For the many small businesses that form the backbone of local economies, access to community-focused finance providers is crucial, given the vast number of banks and credit unions nationwide. This partnership will significantly improve these business owners' access to reliable bank connections, giving them a clearer, real-time view of their finances which, in turn, will empower them to make more informed decisions, supporting their growth, their employees, and the communities they serve. "This partnership with Plaid is expected to supercharge bank connections. It will provide more robust integrations and higher-quality information from a wide range of financial institutions including smaller banks and credit unions," said Vikram Grover, SVP Global Partnerships for Xero. This partnership gives Xero's customers access to more than a thousand secure, direct connections through Plaid's expansive network of US financial institutions, delivering better reliability, data quality, and peace of mind for small businesses. Starting this year, Plaid will power an increasing portion of Xero's US bank feed sources, offering customers more dependable connections to their financial data. "This partnership with Plaid is expected to supercharge bank connections. It will provide more robust integrations and higher-quality information from a wide range of financial institutions including smaller banks and credit unions. This will in turn make managing the finances a lot smoother, more precise and successful, as well as save valuable time for small business owners, accountants and bookkeepers," said Vikram Grover, SVP Global Partnerships for Xero. Xero is continuing to invest in more reliable direct (OAuth) bank feeds, offering a significant improvement by using secure tokens for connections built directly with bank systems. Xero will proactively migrate customers to direct bank feeds available through Plaid, ensuring a more stable flow of financial data. "We're excited to partner with Xero to deliver best-in-class financial data connectivity for U.S. small businesses," said Adam Yoxtheimer, Head of Partnerships at Plaid. "By combining Plaid's secure, direct bank feeds with Xero's powerful accounting platform, we're giving customers faster, more reliable access to their financial information and freeing up time for them to focus on what really matters: growing their business." Xero will ensure a smooth transition to Plaid-powered feeds with clear, proactive instructions to guide customers through the easy setup process. The new Plaid bank feed options for US customers will start to become available from late 2025, with a phased rollout designed to ensure a smooth and well-managed experience. This will include both the introduction of new feeds and the transition of some existing connections to the enhanced service.
Finextra
5 hours ago
- Business
- Finextra
New Mastercard cards centre experience benefits
New Mastercard research reveals a powerful paradigm shift: consumers are prioritizing connection and spending time and money on what genuinely fulfills them – experiences with people who matter the most. To meet these evolving needs, Mastercard is unveiling a new suite of elevated benefits – The Mastercard Collection – across its World, World Elite and newly created World Legend Mastercard cards. 0 This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. Introducing The Mastercard Collection With The Mastercard Collection, cardholders and their friends and families can make the most of every moment with elevated, globally connected dining, entertainment and travel benefits. Dining: Priority reservations at sought-after restaurants, specially crafted menus and experiences that transform moments into memories. Entertainment: Ticket access, including presales, and premium seating for the most in-demand music events through our international partnership with Live Nation, as well as access to tickets for sporting events. Travel: Streamlined airport experiences, including access to 190 fast-track security lanes at over 30 airports and to more than 1,350 airport lounges at major international airports across 600 cities and nearly 150 countries, ensuring a smooth and stress-free start to their adventure. Coming soon to select international airports, Mastercard-exclusive dining spaces will also redefine the pre-flight experience by blending comfort, locally inspired flavors, and must-have travel amenities. The Mastercard Collection unlocks premium benefits for cardholders and their loved ones—at home and where their travels take them. During a vacation to London, for example, a U.S. cardholder and her family can enjoy streamlined travel, breezing through airport security; snag dinner reservations at an award-winning restaurant; and book front-row seats at Stranger Things: The First Shadow in the West End. These exclusively curated experiences and more are available to eligible World portfolio cardholders, complementing issuing banks' own benefits and rewards programs. Consumers can browse and book experiences via or their banking app. Debuting World Legend Mastercard Expanding its World portfolio for higher-spending cardholders, Mastercard is launching the World Legend Mastercard – its most prestigious consumer card to date. Designed for individuals who want access to exceptional and exclusive experiences that bring them closer to their passions, World Legend is available to banks globally today and will debut to cardholders in the U.S. in Q3 2025, followed by a broader international rollout. Building a Platform for Partners The Mastercard Collection and our portfolio of World, World Elite and World Legend cards are built for today's experience-driven consumers. Together, they offer a powerful, curated platform of dining, entertainment and travel experiences that enable issuers to create differentiated products that drive loyalty and brand affinity. The Mastercard Collection is grounded in the philosophy that life's most meaningful moments are truly priceless. Through and our integrated partner channels, cardholders can effortlessly browse, book and enjoy curated experiences that spark emotion, connection and lasting memories — all at their fingertips. Diving Deeper The Mastercard Collection caters to a growing demand from consumers for a more intentional way of living, where spending on meaningful experiences is prioritized over material things. Nearly 75% of cardholders say they feel their best when spending their time on their passions, including culinary exploration, artistic endeavors, and cultural immersion. Two-thirds are becoming more intentional with how they spend their time, focusing on the relationships that matter most (Mastercard proprietary research, 2024). While this shift towards experiences holds true for all demographics, it's especially true among the top 30% of earners, who spend more than twice the average cardholder (Mastercard internal data, 2023). For financial institutions, capturing this audience's attention and building long-term relationships is key. 'Time well-spent with people who matter most is truly priceless,' said Bunita Sawhney, chief consumer product officer, Mastercard. 'That's why we're thrilled to introduce The Mastercard Collection. Together with issuers around the world, we look forward to granting cardholders and their families access to memory-making experiences wherever they go." Mastercard is continuing to expand its benefit offerings available through The Mastercard Collection, meeting consumers where they are, and delivering what matters most to them.
Finextra
7 hours ago
- Business
- Finextra
Activist investor builds stake in Global Payments
Global Payments shares rose on Wednesday after media reports that activist investor Elliott Management has built up a stake in the fintech. 0 In April, Global Payments agreed a blockbuster $22.7 billion deal to acquire Worldpay from GTRC and FIS while offloading its Issuer Solutions business to FIS for $13.5 billion. Global Payments had previously been divesting assets and buying back stock. The change in strategy sent shares south, with the company's stock down around 30% so far this year. Th agreement is expected to close in the first half of 2026 and does not require a shareholder vote. Yet the news - first reported by the Financial Times - that Elliott has secured a "sizable" stake in Global Payments still sent the share price up by around five per cent in morning trading on Wednesday. The exact size of the stake and Elliott's demands have not been disclosed.
