FICO Solution Improves Profitability and Limits Merchant-Related Risk for Banks and Acquirers

MINNEAPOLIS, May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- FICO (NYSE:FICO), the leading provider of analytics and decision management technology, today unveiled FICO® Merchant Monitoring Solution, the fraud and risk management solution for merchant acquirers, those companies that process card transactions for merchants by enabling the necessary connections between the merchants, the card associations, and the issuing banks. The solution identifies fraud, financial, and compliance risk using powerful rules management and analytics, and gives acquirers advanced case management to investigate suspicious activity.

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Merchant acquirers manage card authorizations for merchants, pay issuer fees on their behalf, and act as an intermediary between merchants and card issuers. In doing so, they take on risks associated with transactions until the transactions are final. This includes the risk that retailers are failing to comply with payment card association rules, and the risk of transaction fraud. The risks for acquirers are growing in the current economic environment, and changes in both the association rules and payment card regulatory frameworks introduce new dynamics to the acquiring landscape.  

FICO Merchant Monitoring Solution helps merchant acquirers avoid losses from merchants in the form of card fraud and collusion, and identifies the possibility of financial compliance failure. In addition, FICO Merchant Monitoring Solution helps merchant acquirers prepare for the possibility that smaller merchants may declare bankruptcy or experience other unexpected financial events. By implementing FICO Merchant Monitoring Solution, acquirers can more profitably manage merchant relationships and mitigate known as well as emerging risks.

FICO Merchant Monitoring Solution is based on four components – the award-winning FICO® Blaze Advisor® business rules management system, case management, predictive analytics, and expert guidance from FICO Professional Services consultants. FICO Blaze Advisor enables acquirers to automatically process and send suspicious transactions to the case manager for prioritizing and review. Business users can easily create and modify rules without relying on IT.

Acquirers can define their own metrics for daily calculations such as total sales and historical performance. Transaction settlement details are automatically captured each day. Customizable analytics add sophistication in high-risk situations, such as when working with a new merchant.

"Through our experience over the last 20 years with card fraud, we have built an ideal solution for this segment of the market," said Doug Clare, vice president, fraud solutions at FICO. "Both merchants and acquirers will benefit from a better monitoring system, which protects all parties from fraud and improves compliance with industry rules."

"On a daily basis, the worldwide potential for fraudulent payment transactions is staggering," said David Fish, senior analyst, Mercator Advisory Group. "The merchant acquiring marketplace has long needed anti-fraud solutions like FICO Merchant Monitoring, so that merchant acquirers can identify and manage fraud proactively, the day it happens, without adversely impacting legitimate transactions."

About FICO

FICO (NYSE:FICO) delivers superior predictive analytics solutions that drive smarter decisions. The company's groundbreaking use of mathematics to predict consumer behavior has transformed entire industries and revolutionized the way risk is managed and products are marketed. FICO's innovative solutions include the FICO® Score — the standard measure of consumer credit risk in the United States — along with industry-leading solutions for managing credit accounts, identifying and minimizing the impact of fraud, and customizing consumer offers with pinpoint accuracy. Most of the world's top banks, as well as leading insurers, retailers, pharmaceutical companies and government agencies, rely on FICO solutions to accelerate growth, control risk, boost profits and meet regulatory and competitive demands. FICO also helps millions of individuals manage their personal credit health through www.myFICO.com. Learn more at www.fico.com. FICO: Make every decision count™.

For FICO news and media resources, visit www.fico.com/news.

Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Information

Except for historical information contained herein, the statements contained in this news release that relate to FICO or its business are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including the success of the Company's Decision Management strategy and reengineering plan, the maintenance of its existing relationships and ability to create new relationships with customers and key alliance partners, its ability to continue to develop new and enhanced products and services, its ability to recruit and retain key technical and managerial personnel, competition, regulatory changes applicable to the use of consumer credit and other data, the failure to realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisitions, continuing material adverse developments in global economic conditions, and other risks described from time to time in FICO's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2011 and its last quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended December 31, 2011. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes, FICO's results could differ materially from its expectations. FICO disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

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SOURCE FICO