July 17, 2019: Next Billion Article by Nick Brown
Next Billion just published an article written by Nick Brown, discussing the risk of payment fraud in open-source platforms like Mojaloop:
The world has progressed a long way down the path to global digital and financial inclusion. Access to cell phones is almost universal, even in remote villages, and access to mobile money is spreading rapidly.
The next logical step is payment interoperability, in which different financial services providers’ payment networks are connected to allow for transactions to take place between users of different systems. Without interoperability, you have “closed” systems, where users can only transact with others who have an account on the same system.
However, there are huge risks involved in connecting one financial system to others, and these risks have the potential to be so damaging that the companies involved may not survive. I am talking specifically about payment fraud, and the sheer scale of damage that can result from a major fraud attack.
Financial inclusion is far too important to allow it to falter from lack of preparedness. As a technical expert in payment infrastructure, I understand the risks involved, and the steps necessary to minimize payment fraud and make it manageable for all concerned. In this article, I’ll discuss some of those risks, and describe some ways the industry can guard against them.