Alan Nagle of Cybertonica
Today on FinTech Profile we speak to Alan Nagle CCO of Cybertonica.
Cybertonica use Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in combination with analytical, big data and statistical models to reduce basket drop-off and increase conversion for all channels of e-payments and transaction platforms. We provide frictionless on-boarding, checkout and secure payments processing for e-Commerce and digital banking. Our service increases conversion and sales by up to 25% while managing CNP and other categories of fraud at world-class compliant standards.
Here’s Alan i response to our questions (in bold).
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Who are you and what’s your background?
I am Alan Nagle and I have over 16 years’ experience focusing on the risk management aspect of this ever evolving world of e-complexity. Now I challenge myself by working in Cybertonica – creating the best fraud product in the world with incredibly talented people at my side. My degree in Credit and Risk management provides me with excellent fundamentals in this area.
- What is your job title and what are your general responsibilities?
I am Chief Commercial Officer and my responsibilities are tied to Marketing/Sales Strategy/Budget, commercial agreements, the product interface, product design and route to market. Overall, my experience at PayPal and Google gave me insights about the anti-fraud product market and inform my understanding of our customers needs in the segment.
Can you give us an overview of your business?
Cybertonica services merchants and platforms to prevent fraud, but our real interest is in creating robust risk scores that can be leveraged to grow the zone of trust for payers and payment systems worldwide. We enhance the e/m-commerce purchasing experience boosting sales, customer satisfaction and long-term loyalty. Merchants using the platform also feel that they are safer selling online, and their customers churn less, adding more to baskets, up to 25% in some case studies. We aim to make all online payments to be as frictionless as possible, removing false declines and augmenting transactions without secondary authentication. Typically, we reduce the use of 3DS by up to 50% or more.
Tell us how you are funded.
We are pre-Series A funded by knowledgeable investors in this segment and one specialized FinTech fund. Many of our private investors have worked in the FinTech industry or are leaders in the payments world. They know the value proposition of our product. They also understand the unique way Cybertonica views the world of risk. We created a product that highly optimises or removes the 3DS process, while insuring up to 80% decline in chargebacks and other suspicious or fraudulent activity.
Why did you start the company? To solve what problems?
We felt impact of 3DS/AVS and other friction filled check out processes where impacting the merchant in terms of their sales revenue. We knew we could make it much easier for the customer to pay for their goods online while providing reduced risk for the merchant. We completed a deep review of the systems in the market addressing this challenge and concluded that Cybertonica could assess different data sets in real time that are not currently being used within the industry. This approach increases accuracy and speed. The fraudsters know the current incumbent tools and have worked out how to bypass them. Our Adversarial Models test our AI and ML to update defenses and defeat fraud attacks instantaneously. Through our unique interface, the B2B user stays in control of their fraud process.
Who are your target customers? What’s your revenue model?
Banks, PSPs, acquirers and e-commerce ventures that have been losing revenue to 3DS/AVS. Our AI/ML works across all platforms as it was designed from a good customer point of view, to weed out the basket drop offs instead of focusing on the negative aspects of fraud signals, our technology looks for the positive in the transactions which ensures higher accuracy and revenues – no need to say “no” to a perfectly fine payment.
If you had a magic wand, what one thing would you change in the banking and/or FinTech sector?
That all e-commerce merchants would share the data about the confirmed fraud committed on their platforms in one central database so that fraudsters don’t have so many easy meals out of one identity stolen. Once that is in place the revenue streams for the fraudsters and the ROI for each payment card reduce significantly and ensure their business models become harder to execute and less profitable.
What is your message for the larger players in the Finance industry?
With Cybertonica as an analytics tool within your company, we will ensure greater accuracy on risk decisions, faster customer check outs and increased conversion on sales. Our technology and data is moving at a faster rate than our competitors because we are new, agile and focusing on what’s important, the technology first, then the sales will look after themselves.
What phone are you carrying and why?
I recently bought the S7 from Samsung, I prefer using Android phones as they are open source technologies and I’m not limited by a closed garden in what I can or cannot download. One lesson from Apple for all entrepreneurs (not just in FinTech) is to stick to an elevated vision of your purpose.
Where do you get your industry news from?
We have Melike Belli on the team who has deep knowledge of the FinTech space and conducts regular reviews and research to support her market planning for the business. This includes frequent engagement with our CEO and other team members around Europe in conferences, panels, RFPs and interaction with key partners, such as EPAM. David Parker, our NED, is a 25 year veteran of the payments industry and it is fair to say that if he doesn’t know about it, it is likely marginal interest.
Can you list 3 people you rate from the FinTech sector that we should be following on Twitter?
Tony Craddock (@TonyCraddock) from the Emerging Payment Association (EPA). Tony helps FinTech and payments businesses connect and collaborate within the EPA’s community of 120 progressive companies across Europe. I’d highly recommend any innovative business wanting to collaborate and do business in FinTech to follow Tony and seriously to consider joining the EPA.
David Parker (@davidpolymath) from Polymath Consulting.
David is the founder and CEO of Polymath Consulting. He is an advisor to many of the world’s major payment and card businesses. I’d highly recommend payments professionals to follow David as he has played a recognised role in the transformation of the payments landscape over the last 20 years.
Can you suggest the name of an Angel Investor or VC that might be interested in being profiled?
My first thought would be for Fuel Ventures, led by serial entrepreneur Mark Pearson who famously built and exited two businesses in the online voucher space. His team has a unique approach and amazing portfolio; they are a resource that should not be ignored.
What’s the best FinTech product or service you’ve seen recently?
At Money2020, I had the pleasure of meeting the CEO of Railsbank Nigel Verdon. They can connect global banking with only five lines of code, which is really impressive. I will be watching carefully how they disrupt the banking industry and how they large players react to the movement of Neo Banks. It will be interesting to see how quickly the banks partner such ventures or buy them out.
Finally, let’s talk predictions. What trends do you think are going to define the next few years in the FinTech sector?
Biometrics is going to be a major part of our future. In less than 10 years time a person will be able to walk into an airport without a ticket or passport and the technology at that point will be able to scan their faces, link their passport and remove all security clearances, unless you fail this check. The customer will then have a frictionless check in process. We have a vision about security and cybersecurity where our tools can be applied from the network level right through to the boarding gate. Traveling will be much more enjoyable when that happens.
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Our thanks to Alan for answering our questions today. You can find out more about Cybertonica by visiting their web site www.cybertonica.com or reach out via Twitter here or LinkedIn.
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