BNP Paribas selects Worldline to reduce IBAN fraud in SEPA direct debits

BNP Paribas Cash Management has extended its partnership with payment services provider Worldline to tackle fraud in SEPA direct debit (SDD) transactions.

It has chosen to implement Worldline’s solution, which combines the electronic signature of SEPA mandates with Open Banking-based account validation, thereby eliminating the risk of IBAN misuse during the mandate signature process.

Fraudulent use of someone else’s IBAN during the mandate signature process was found to be responsible for more than 60% of defrauded direct debits in recent years, according to a report released by Banque de France.

The solution has been rolled out by BNP Paribas in Germany, Italy and France, with additional countries to follow in a few months.

“We were seeking an innovative solution to reduce IBAN fraud in SEPA Direct Debits. We found it with the new account validation functionality of Worldline’s SEPA Payment Suite, which is based on the latest innovative technologies through Open Banking opportunities,” Bruno Mellado, global head of payments and receivables at BNP Paribas, said.

“By implementing it in our existing SEPA mandate and Direct Debit solution EasyCollect, the risk of SDD fraud will be reduced and customer loyalty will be strengthened, which is a huge benefit for our clients and their customers.”

BNP Paribas Cash Management is first to implement Worldline’s Account Validation solution into its existing white-label product, ‘EasyCollect’.

Alessandro Baroni, head of financial services at Worldline, added: “Being one of the largest Open Banking providers, we are continuously working on innovative solutions that help our customers to grow and improve their business.

“We look forward to continuing our long-term partnership with BNP Paribas Cash Management and further build on future products and initiatives.”