Several Asian countries are moving towards the digital economy with digitization of money, widespread access to the internet, and mass adoption of smartphones. But their undeniable potential raises concern for the concentrated focus of cyber attackers on Asia-Pacific region. Cybercriminals have become more refined and are constantly seeking for new ways to target customer and breach enterprise data which calls for a re-evaluation of safety against cyber threats.

Nagesh Devata, general manager of Southeast Asia Cross Border Markets for PayPal said, "For consumers, there is really no substitute to awareness and for enterprises, we need to move from reactive to predictive models in risk management."

PayPal, one of the leading digital payment solution providers, highlights five consumer tips to secure online payments:

•  protect personal information

•  choose a strong password combining alphanumeric characters

•  share personal information only through authentic online banking features

•  opt for two-factor authentication, where a user is granted access only after successfully presenting two or more pieces of evidence to an authentication mechanism

•  ensure that authentic apps are downloaded for payment.

According to the company's consumer research, 43 percent of customers in the Asia-Pacific region consider privacy as the primary motivation while choosing the payment method. Only 38 percent of people opt for convenience while making digital payments.

More than 286 million active accounts are comprised of consumers and merchants. PayPal is at a secure position from which further progress on both the equations of the purchasing process can be made.

Additionally, Devata said, "This puts us in a unique position to find insights [for consumers and merchants] in the entire process. Cybersecurity is a team sport, and everyone has a part to play."

Alleviation of Risk

As PayPal bridges technology and business, it anchors its risk management on data science through its two-sided network which is able to study both sides of the transaction while providing buyer protection, data encryption and seamless experience for its customers.

For the company, data ensures better customer experience while enabling it to tackle more risks. Devata stated, "At the heart of everything we do with data, we do for our customers and to help our customers connect better."

He further added, "There is a strong network effect in the digital payments business. And we want to enable the good guys while keeping the bad guys out. This allows us to provide security and value to both merchants and consumers."

Deploying analytics for Risk Analysis

PayPal employs advanced ML combined with proprietary story-based analytics against a series of an analytical and technical challenge to drive better risk decisions. The company runs multiple models and rules before making decisions on transactions — all within milliseconds.

By evaluating all the accounts, it recognizes for its customer, the company leverages the network effect for risk management. According to Nagesh Devata, the work is to spot accounts with suspicious fraudulent behaviors using science and analytics.

He further added, "There is a human story behind every transaction, and we combine data analytics and human oversight to find this story and try to protect our customers."