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Mastercard (MA) Aims to Curb Digital Frauds in Latin America

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Mastercard Incorporated (MA - Free Report) recently entered into a strategic collaboration with the well-known fraud prevention platform, Vesta, to equip merchants throughout Latin America and the Caribbean to engage in hassle-free and secure digital transactions.

The alliance will result in combining the resources and expertise of the partners. The real-time anomaly detection and response, immense global consortium data and cutting-edge machine learning decision-making tools of Vesta will be integrated with Mastercard’s Cyber and Intelligence solutions to roll out an advanced fraud management solution. From the first quarter of 2023, the new solution is expected to be availed across Latin American & Caribbean markets.  

Subsequently, the fraud management solution is expected to extend fraud chargeback protection to merchants. Serving as a tailwind for better risk management, the merchants will also be provided with valuable information such as payment risk scores and pre-emptive chargeback alerts.

Apart from shielding the merchants from losing trustworthy customers and revenues, the tie-up also offers a secure digital experience and thereby, solidifies Mastercard’s consumers’ trust in digital transactions.

The latest partnership is reflective of Mastercard’s efforts to create a safe and reliable digital ecosystem in Latin America and the Caribbean. MA seems to be prudent in picking up Vesta as a partner since it aims to eliminate frauds in digital transactions and thereby relieve merchants from incurring fraud-related exorbitant costs. This is done by Vesta by leveraging machine learning built on a nearly three-decade transactional data history.

In addition to the latest move, Mastercard, simultaneously, announced the bringing of the diversified tools and solution suite of Mastercard Trust Center to Latin America and the Caribbean. Subsequently, small and medium businesses will have access to reliable cyber security research, education, resources and tools with which it will be easier to counter cybercrimes. In an evolving digital era wherein businesses are compelled to infuse digitization into their operations, small and medium businesses often suffer from inadequate resources and financial uncertainties. Thereby, access to Mastercard Trust Center can be of great use.

The twin announcements are likely to strengthen Mastercard’s reputation as a leading fraud prevention solutions provider across Latin America and the Caribbean. A secure digital economy seems to be the need of the hour, considering the growing inclination to shop online. While digitization does provide comfort and ease, the trend to go digital has led to a rise in cybercrimes.  Cyber attacks often result in the compromise of payments received by organizations and the breach of customer’s confidential data.

Therefore, companies like Mastercard providing a comprehensive portfolio of fraud detection solutions to navigate evolving fraud threats for varied industries will be best positioned to capitalize on the booming need for a safe digital environment. Mastercard remains committed to bolstering its fraud prevention capabilities with the help of continuous partnerships and significant investments.

Shares of Mastercard have gained 11.3% in a year against the industry’s decline of 13.6%.

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Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Mastercard currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the Business Services space are Avis Budget Group, Inc. (CAR - Free Report) , Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (RBA - Free Report) and Huron Consulting Group Inc. (HURN - Free Report) . While Ritchie Bros. sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Avis Budget and Huron Consulting carry a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The bottom line of Avis Budget outpaced estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average being 67.22%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CAR’s 2022 earnings is pegged at $52.75 per share, which indicates more than double from the prior-year reported figure. The same for revenues suggests growth of 28.3% from the year-ago reported number. The consensus mark for CAR’s 2022 earnings has moved 13% north in the past 30 days.

Ritchie Bros.’ earnings outpaced estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark once, the average being 20.83%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RBA’s 2022 earnings suggests an improvement of 15% from the year-ago reported figure. The same for revenues suggests growth of 21% from the prior-year reading. The consensus mark for RBA’s 2022 earnings has moved 4.2% north in the past 30 days.

The bottom line of Huron Consulting outpaced estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average being 19.26%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HURN’s 2022 earnings suggests an improvement of 26.4% from the year-ago reported figure. The same for revenues suggests growth of 21.4% from the year-ago actual. The consensus mark for HURN’s 2022 earnings has moved 0.6% north in the past 30 days.

The Huron Consulting stock has surged 61.2% in a year. However, shares of Avis Budget and Ritchie Bros. have lost 16.6% and 20.4%, respectively, in the same time frame.

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