The world of finance is difficult to get into and manoeuvre around to your advantage. No matter what business you operate, there are going to be times when you make more money than you expected. However, what about the times when you get a false positive? Your first instinct may be that there is some fraudulent activity going on that you feel unsure about. So, what is a false positive and how will it affect the overall journey for your customers? That’s what we are going to find out below.

What is a false positive in finance?

When a false positive appears, it’s since the business suspects an order is not quite what it seems. In fact, it’s very likely that an act of fraud has occurred. Therefore, it makes sense that the order has been declined. The business does not want to become the victim of fraud. Ultimately, it can be a risk to decline any type of order. After all, it’s extremely hard to know whether it is legitimate. If it is legitimate, then you will simply be declining an order which can reduce sales. Ultimately, this could mean that you are not only losing revenue, but customers in the future.

How does a false positive affect a customer’s journey?

It’s normal that your customer will go through a 5-step journey before they interact with your business. This will include creating an account or logging into an account. They will also show that they have the intention to buy from you by placing an order into their cart. However, if their card transaction fails, it’s likely that they will not be interested in making an order in the future. Therefore, you have potentially lost a customer, as well as any revenue that they planned on spending. Not only does this mean that there are wasted acquisition costs, but it will ultimately damage your brand as a whole.

What can you do to reduce false positives?

Unfortunately, false positives are a part of business that you will need to try and take care of as well as you can. To understand which sales are genuine and which are false, you will have to keep an eye on your customers to understand their spending habits. Most businesses rely on customers to contact them about false positives, but you may also see genuine buyers try to purchase your products for a second time.

You can help reduce false positives by:

• Becoming more aware that not all false positives are examples of fraud
• Using AI, Machine learning and automated payment software, like Xelix
• Establishing the identity of your customers to prevent fraud

Do you know what to do about false positives?

If you have opened a business, it’s crucial that you understand as much as you can about false positives. They can impact your sales and cause you to struggle with retaining your loyal customers. Thus, with the information in this guide, you will be able to future proof your business and mitigate this risk. The more you understand about your false positives, the more you can increase the amount of business you receive.