Technological developments have made things speedy and easy for online payments. Along with these conveniences followed the threats of online fraud too. To control and prevent all kinds of frauds in the online payment domain, business leaders are initiating newer solutions in better customer authentication and verification to maintain the safety and reliability of the transactions.
Kathleen Waid, the Chief Revenue Officer at Prove, analyzed the market need for better payment security systems that customize the authentication process, apply innovative technologies from a new perspective, and deliver a quick result solution to the customers. She is keen on providing new and specific solutions that secure the transaction with complex integrated processes, thereby preventing all the threats of cyber-attacks or frauds. The technical team from Prove is focused on the research process of renewing their solutions to meet the ever-changing needs of the modern market.
Where did it all begin?
Kathleen began her career in a fraud prevention department for a notable top ten credit card issuer, where she built a team to detect and prevent fraud, allowing her to become an industry expert in the field. The issuing bank she was working for needed a more efficient solution than just simple methods and rules to identify fraud— so they eventually turned to a machine learning, neural network solution offered by HNC Software in the ’90s.
While their PhD-level scientist built amazing fraud prevention models to prevent credit card fraud (now a FICO product named Falcon), they had no idea how to help banks operationalize it. Kathleen joined HNC Software, a SaaS-based software company, in sales as an operational expert to help solve customer problems. This highly actionable opportunity allowed her to make a meaningful change in customer experience. That led to her fast-track career in Sales and then Sales Management. Looking back, it gave Kathleen a holistic business approach to selling — that sitting in the customer’s shoes remains the best place for gaining perspective on how to solve their problems, not selling your software. Her experience in sales leadership at a series of successful SaaS AI-based startup companies led to her current role as Chief Revenue Officer at Prove.
Protecting YOU
Prove’s mission is to be the global standard for trusted digital identity.
Kathleen mentions that the world is moving to a mobile-first economy; businesses need to modernize how they acquire, engage with and enable consumers. Prove’s phone-centric identity tokenization and passive cryptographic authentication solutions reduce friction, enhance security and privacy across all digital channels, and accelerate revenues while reducing operating expenses and fraud losses. Over 1,000 enterprise customers use Prove’s platform to process 20 billion customer requests annually across industries, including banking, lending, healthcare, gaming, crypto, e-commerce, marketplaces, and payments.
Right Place, Right Time
Kathleen states that Prove’s solutions deliver the broadest and most accurate identity information that impacts both the consumer and the business.
1) Prove reduces consumer frustration and friction when interacting digitally (as simple as opening a new account online)
2) Prove saves consumers, and a broader market, from becoming victims of fraud.
Kathleen pointed out that achieving these two things together is a complicated problem to solve. As a consumer, one can relate to the digital identity verification and authentication process it is subject to. When asked for personally identifiable information (PII), or to “find the stop signs” in a grid, or receive a one-time passcode (OTP) as a text we enter, or input those “wavy words” to verify you are not a bot. These actions ensure its primary identity through multiple verifications, and unfortunately, doing it in a friction-filled way for the consumer. The bad actors can break these methods and still get away with fraud. Kathleen supported that Prove’s solutions have passive identity verification and authentication, eliminating the need for these friction-filled actions and reducing fraud.
Leveraging Technology
Kathleen adds that leveraging the largest and most accurate network of reusable credentials, Prove enables consumer experiences that are both secure and frictionless while redefining business identity processes as revenue drivers instead of cost centers. With technology advancements such as 5G and the metaverse, the market for Prove’s phone-centric identity technology will only continue to grow, all while increasing the need for a secure identity that is also seamless. With over 90% of users opting in, no other company enables businesses to authenticate their customers easily and securely through something as simple and accessible as their mobile phones.
She described further about companies spending more and more on fraud prevention; losses continue to rise, as do customer abandonment rates during onboarding.
97% of customers say a smooth, easy experience is important when choosing a service provider. Source
47% of banking customers who began applications on mobile did not complete them, citing “poor UX and confusing fraud processes” as the reason: Source
Between 2019 and 2020, almost half (47%) of U.S. consumers surveyed experienced identity theft: Source
The total amount of money lost to identity theft in the United States annually is comparable to the GDP of Turkey: Between 2019 and 2020, identity theft losses jumped by 42% to a total of $712.4 billion. Source
Kathleen states that the revenue generation from consumers will continue to rely heavily on the best consumer experiences that also protect organizations from fraud, and Prove is well-positioned to be the global standard for trusted digital identity.
What Lies Ahead?
Kathleen envisions increasing her career satisfaction by addressing the problems head-on and collaborating with different people. She hopes to continue mentoring and learning from her team, a truly meaningful point in her career.
Kathleen says that the future goal of Prove is a standard for trusted and reusable global identity. The markets they address are in industry verticals where fraud thrives because faster payments live. She mentioned that the company would expand beyond our key markets in Banks, Fintechs, Cryptocurrency, Global Payments, Healthcare and further penetrate their emerging markets in Gambling, Gaming, Public Sector, Insurance. It expects to achieve through best-in-class solutions supported by our Solutions Delivery and Customer Success teams.
Word of Advice
Kathleen’s favorite, Emerson, quotes his definition of success, which includes the line “to earn the appreciation of an honest critic.”
“I love to see folks early in their careers flourish. Those professionals who truly accept constructive criticism and value earned praise will excel. Be hungry to ask “what can I improve upon” to someone who has earned your respect.”
“Be open to a different career path or plan then you originally laid out for yourself; what your trusted mentor sees in you may lead you to greater success. Learning how to listen actively is key. Listening and emotional intelligence are ridiculously underrated skills. I’m not always the smartest person in the room, but my success has always come from my ability to listen, read the room, and react accordingly,” Kathleen concludes.
