Tokenization could help stamp vice, projected to beat the $340 billion mark by 2027

Digital fraud is on the rise and according to a Global Payments (GP) report, could surpass the $340 billion mark by 2027. But amid the gloomy forecast, lies a glimmer of hope: tokenization. Per the study, payment cryptographs — tokenization — can be a crucial ally in combating the runaway scams bedeviling the e-commerce sector. 

GP suggests that tokenization when fully exploited, can ensure timely and secure transaction completion. Through it, users can use biometrics and passkeys to unlock devices linked to their payment credentials. Thus, they act as a barrier to unauthorized access to one’s transactional data. 

The report states:

Tokenization converts sensitive data into unique digital tokens that can be securely and efficiently transmitted over borders using standard definitions, reducing the need for complex verification processes.

~Global Payments report

GP’s findings also highlighted the centrality of the payment cryptographs to the global e-commerce sector. The firm reckons that the tokenization technology will account for $290 billion of the sector’s transactions by 2030. This potential has prompted major players, such as Amazon, to adopt tokenization. The tech giant is testing its Amazon Payments Cryptography Service which it intends to use in automating and consolidating its payment functions. 

America lags in fighting e-commerce fraud 

Interestingly, the report shows that the US is lagging behind Europe and Asia in its efforts to thwart digital fraud. This situation is due to the country’s fragmented market and its slower uptake of new standards. But that is changing now with the payments sector’s adoption of new tech such as passkeys. 

That’s an assertion that Amazon’s Senior Operations Lead Mark Smith concurs with. He suggests that the American payment industry was finding ways to modernize its infrastructure after years of following a different tangent. 

Smith’s views seem to resonate with Visa’s Head of Consumer Products, Marc Nelsen. He held that US banks delayed adopting self-authentication on mobile apps. That situation contrasts with Europe, where regulations require robust customer identification, leading to lower fraud rates. 

America’s shift in managing online scams draws from the increase in AI-based con games. The power of technology allows ill-intentioned actors to try mass phishing individuals and businesses. 

AI could be the key to taming  growing phishing attempts

Global Payments’ report also indicates that phishing attacks have increased with the continued adoption of remote work and artificial intelligence (AI). Traditional multi-factor authentication methods have struggled to keep pace with these advancements.

In light of this development, the report calls for concerted efforts to fight this vice. It concludes that digital fraud taxes everyone by passing on the service costs to the end users. Through its ability to intelligently score risks and undertake behavioral analysis, AI offers firms the means for stemming payment fraud.