Fraud is having a huge impact on the UK’s network of small-and-medium seized enterprises (SMEs), a significant part of the country’s economy, according to Visa.
The global leading payments giant published data showing that 41% of UK SMEs have suffered losses as a result of fraud, with an average loss of £3,808.
Bank account hacks, billing and invoice fraud and phishing scams are the most common types of fraud cited by SMEs according to Visa’s data, accounting for 23%, 25% and 24% of fraud cases.
Fraud has been a widely discussed topic in the UK finance and payments fields this year, but the main conversation has revolved primarily around the consumer impact with less being said of its impact on businesses.
Regardless, banks have been granted more powers by the UK government to counter fraud which will also help businesses. Third party providers like Visa are also developing solutions to cater to the industry’s growing fraud prevention needs.
Mandy Lamb, Managing Director Visa UK and Ireland, said: “Small businesses should not be held back by fraud. We already invest heavily in technology to safeguard small businesses – in effect levelling the playing field between small and big businesses as they trade online.
“This toolkit is part of our commitment to support them to safely manage their business and serve their customers in a digital world.”
Visa is still focusing on the consumer impact of fraud as well, however, highlighting that this can in turn impact businesses due to the influence it has over how consumers interact with companies.
The firm’s data found that 91.2% of consumers spent less after being impacted by fraud, a further 6.4% didn’t make any purchases, and on average consumer spend dropped by 46%. For the government, purchase scams and romance scams are the main cause for concern.
“Customers should feel safe in the knowledge that when shopping at businesses big or small, paying securely with Visa can help protect them against fraudsters,” Lamb said. ”If things go wrong, Visa is there to help put things right and work with customers to get their money back.”
