Integration of Security and Innovation: Insights from the Discover® Global Network

The digital payments landscape is evolving rapidly, with consumer preferences shifting towards digital transactions. However, ensuring the security of customer payment information remains a top priority, as outlined in The Fintech Times.

Valeri Vanourek, Vice President of Digital Payments at Discover® Global Network, brings over 17 years of industry experience to the table. She emphasizes the importance of fraud prevention and security enhancement, highlighting tokenisation as a key tool for safeguarding digital payments.

«Fraudsters are like a game of Whack-a-Mole,» says Vanourek. «As soon as you address one issue, another pops up.» This constant challenge underscores the importance of having solid foundational strategies in place to adapt to new fraud methods.

Vanourek also stresses the importance of compliance and risk management in the industry. «PCI 4.0 guidelines are significantly impacting the industry, and we are committed to implementing internal controls to ensure data security,» she says.

Regarding innovation, Vanourek believes in maintaining the fundamentals of transaction processing while exploring new strategies like multi-cryptogram, multifactor authentication, and improved transaction security. She sees network tokenisation as a win-win for merchants, cardholders, and issuers, as it enhances security and ensures uninterrupted payment experiences.

Collaboration within the industry is crucial, according to Vanourek. By partnering with stakeholders and sharing data, Discover® Global Network can identify fraud earlier and respond more effectively.

Looking ahead to 2024, Vanourek expects to see continued partnership-driven innovations in the payment industry. She highlights Discover Enhanced Decisioning, a fraud management solution that enables merchants to share enhanced customer and transaction data with issuers in real-time, as an example of how collaboration can lead to improved authorisation decision quality and lower fraud rates.

Vanourek believes that by staying committed to security, innovation, and collaboration, the payments industry can continue to evolve and meet the changing needs of consumers.