Biometric security and IoT drive the future of mobile payments: Interview with Suresh Rajagopalan, CEO, Wibmo

By Puja Sharma

Suresh Rajagopalan, CEO of Wibmo, a PayU company, leverages over 30 years of experience in global banking and payment systems to drive Wibmo’s growth and international expansion, focusing on innovation and market presence.

Rajagopalan spoke with IBS Intelligence about their advanced, multi-layered authentication and fraud management solutions that enhance security and provide a frictionless user experience in digital payments.

How does Wibmo’s authentication service enhance security for digital payments, and what makes it stand out in the market?

Wibmo’s authentication service significantly enhances security for digital payments through its advanced, multi-layered authentication mechanisms, including Risk-Based Authentication (RBA), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), and biometric authentication. These features provide a robust defence against unauthorised access and fraud. What sets Wibmo’s authentication apart is its contextual and adaptive approach, leveraging real-time data analytics and machine learning to evaluate the risk associated with each transaction dynamically.

Wibmo is one of the first few 3DS providers to get certified on the latest EMVCo 2.3.1 version. We support all major schemes, including Visa, Mastercard, Amex, JCB, Diners, CUP, and local schemes like RuPay, with live customers across the globe. Our highly configurable low-code/no-code platform allows customers to make configuration changes on the fly, offering unmatched flexibility.

Wibmo manages 5 million transactions per day across Wibmo-managed instances and 3 million on customer-premise instances, all under a continuous availability architecture that ensures 99.99% uptime. Our Access Control Server (ACS) is certified by EMVCo, Visa, and Mastercard, meeting the highest global standards for payment security. Everything you need to manage payment security—ACS, RBA, and MFA—is integrated under one roof.

Our seasoned 3DS migration experts can help banks transition their 3DS platform within 2 to 4 weeks. Additionally, we offer a well-trained support team backed by high levels of automation to ensure a high success rate. We also provide a suite of value-added services designed to give our customers a business advantage. With continuous investment in platform renewal, Wibmo ensures that our solutions remain relevant and effective for card issuers and their customers.

This combination of advanced technologies, stringent compliance with international standards, and continuous innovation makes Wibmo a leader in the digital payment authentication space.

Can you explain how the firm’s fraud and risk management solutions provide a frictionless user experience while ensuring robust security?

Wibmo’s fraud and risk management solutions, including the Trident FRM (Fraud and Risk Management) platform, strike a balance between security and user experience by employing real-time risk assessment on transactions. Trident uses state-of-the-art self-learning technologies that continuously monitor and analyse transactions across multiple channels, providing a holistic 360-degree view of suspicious entities. This ensures the detection and prevention of fraud without disrupting the legitimate user, delivering a secure and superior experience.

By leveraging advanced machine learning models and big data analytics, Trident FRM can accurately differentiate between genuine and fraudulent transactions with a high degree of granularity. This minimises the need for intrusive verification steps, providing a frictionless experience. Wibmo’s risk management platform is a low-code solution that supports customisable scenario creation, allowing financial institutions to tailor security measures according to their risk appetite and customer profiles. This flexibility ensures that security does not come at the expense of customer convenience.

In July 2024, Trident processed 290 million transactions, identifying a total suspicious fraud amount of INR 21.1 Crores ($2.5 million). Specifically, one of the largest private banks in India has been using the Trident solution for over a year, configuring more than 140 fraud scenarios. Over the past year, the bank has built a substantial repository of over 500 classified entities, leading to a 60% increase in confirmed fraud cases compared to the previous year. The monthly fraud savings have increased by 50%, with July’s fraud savings amounting to INR 1.65 Crores ($197,727).

What are the biggest challenges currently facing the digital payments industry, particularly in emerging markets?

The digital payments industry faces several challenges, especially in emerging markets:

• Cybersecurity Threats: As digital payments become more prevalent, cybercriminals increasingly target them. Emerging markets often have weaker cybersecurity infrastructure, making them more vulnerable to fraud and data breaches.
• Regulatory Compliance: Keeping up with varying regulatory requirements across different regions can be complex and costly. Compliance is crucial, especially in regions with strict data protection laws like GDPR in Europe or the evolving guidelines in Asia-Pacific and Africa.
• Infrastructure Gaps: In many emerging markets, there is inadequate digital infrastructure, such as reliable internet connectivity and secure payment gateways, which hinder the adoption of digital payments.
• Consumer Trust and Awareness: Building trust in digital payments is critical. Many consumers in emerging markets are still hesitant to adopt digital payment solutions due to concerns about security and a lack of understanding of how these systems work.

How do you see the role of AI and machine learning evolving in the context of payment security and fraud prevention?

AI and machine learning are becoming increasingly integral to payment security and fraud prevention. These technologies enable payment systems to analyse vast amounts of transaction data in real time, identifying patterns and anomalies indicative of fraud. Machine learning models continuously learn and adapt to new fraud tactics, improving detection rates and reducing false positives over time.

In the future, AI and machine learning will likely evolve to provide even more proactive fraud prevention, predicting and preventing fraud before it occurs. They will also play a crucial role in personalised user authentication, using behavioural biometrics and other data points to create a unique user profile that is difficult for fraudsters to replicate. As these technologies advance, they will become even more embedded in all aspects of payment security, offering more sophisticated and robust protection against evolving threats.

How does Wibmo’s “Acquiring in a Box” solution simplify payment processing for banks and FinTech companies?

Wibmo’s “Acquiring in a Box” provides a comprehensive, end-to-end payment processing platform that simplifies the complexities of acquiring and managing merchant payments. As the name suggests, “Acquiring in a Box” integrates all acquiring capabilities into one platform—Wibmo’s Areion PG. This solution covers everything from merchant onboarding and MDR management to authentication, authorisation, and settlements.

Merchant Onboarding & Lifecycle Management

Wibmo’s platform enables seamless bulk merchant onboarding via Excel file uploads. A key differentiator is the instant generation of MID/TID at the acquiring switch, allowing merchants to begin transacting immediately once registered with networks.

End-to-End Payment Processing

“Acquiring in a Box” manages the entire payment processing lifecycle, including authentication and authorisation. Wibmo’s Areion PG platform has direct connectivity with network switches and supports transaction processing for Visa, Mastercard, RuPay, and Amex. Serving the top 5 acquiring banks and aggregators in India, Sri Lanka, and Nigeria, Areion PG processes over 8 million transactions.

 Enhanced Security and Compliance with Trident

Security is critical in payment processing, and Wibmo’s solution includes robust features that meet global standards such as PCI DSS. The platform incorporates advanced fraud detection and prevention tools, ensuring secure transactions and regulatory compliance. Wibmo’s in-house FRM tool, Trident, is used by top payment aggregators and banks, processing 7 million transactions daily for a single client.

Scalability and Flexibility

The “Acquiring in a Box” solution is highly scalable, making it suitable for institutions of any size. Whether for a small FinTech startup or a large multinational bank, Wibmo’s platform can be customised to meet specific needs and expand as the business grows. Its flexibility also supports various payment methods, currencies, and channels, enabling institutions to serve a diverse customer base.

Token Hub

Wibmo’s Token Hub supports both issuer and network tokenisation and is certified with Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Diners, and RuPay, ensuring comprehensive coverage across major payment networks.

 Cost-Effectiveness via Smart Router

Wibmo Smart router integrates with multiple PG and route transactions based on SR and Cost. By integrating multiple payment processing functions into a single solution, Wibmo’s “Acquiring in a Box” reduces the need for additional infrastructure and third-party services, leading to significant cost savings.  This makes the solution a cost-effective choice for banks and FinTech companies looking to streamline their payment processing operations.

 What are the key benefits of Wibmo’s end-to-end program management for issuers of physical and virtual cards?

Wibmo’s end-to-end program management for issuers of physical and virtual cards provides several key benefits:

• Comprehensive Control: Wibmo manages the entire card lifecycle from issuance to activation, usage, and expiration, providing issuers with complete control over their card programs and Wibmo managing the back-end process.
• Enhanced Security: With integrated fraud detection and prevention tools, issuers can ensure that all transactions are secure, reducing the risk of fraud and protecting both their business and their customers.
• Scalability: Wibmo’s platform is designed to scale with the issuer’s needs, allowing them to expand their card programs as their customer base grows easily.
• Compliance: Wibmo ensures that all card programs comply with relevant regulatory standards, reducing the administrative burden on issuers and ensuring that they remain compliant as regulations evolve.

 With the rapid growth of mobile payments, what trends do you foresee shaping the future of mobile payment solutions?

Several trends are shaping the future of mobile payment solutions:

• Biometric Authentication: As security becomes increasingly important, biometric authentication methods, such as fingerprint, facial recognition, and voice authentication, will become standard features in mobile payment solutions.
• Contactless Payments: The convenience and speed of contactless payments are driving their adoption worldwide, especially in the post-pandemic world where consumers prefer touch-free transactions.
• Integration with IoT: The Internet of Things (IoT) is enabling new payment use cases, such as connected cars that can pay for fuel automatically or smart home devices that reorder groceries when stocks are low.
• AI-Powered Personalisation: AI will enable more personalised payment experiences, offering users tailored financial products and services based on their spending habits and preferences.

 How important is regulatory compliance in the FinTech industry, and how does Wibmo ensure its solutions meet global standards?

Regulatory compliance is critically important in the FinTech industry, as it ensures the protection of consumer data and the integrity of financial systems. Non-compliance can result in severe penalties, legal repercussions, and damage to a company’s reputation.

Wibmo ensures its solutions meet global standards by adhering to stringent regulatory requirements such as PCI-DSS, GDPR, and various regional guidelines from regulators like the RBI. Wibmo also stays abreast of changes in regulations and regularly updates its solutions to comply with new laws and standards. This commitment to compliance helps Wibmo maintain trust with its clients and end-users, ensuring that all transactions are secure and that sensitive data is protected at all times.