Forter raises $32M to help retailers combat online fraud

Claiming to be the first fraud prevention company to offer an automated, real time, Decision-as-a-Service (DaaS) solution for online merchants, Forter, has raised $32 million in Series C funding led by Scale Venture Partners, with participation from previous investors Sequoia Capital and New Enterprise Associates (NEA). The new investment will be the driving force behind Forter’s growth and rapid expansion across the US. It will help in the acceleration of the automated fraud prevention platform and company vision of delivering a fraud-free e-commerce ecosystem.

Forter has acceded a total of $50 million since its launch in February 2014 and tripled its size. Along with the new investment, it has taken Rory O’Driscoll from Scale Venture Partners on board as a Director on the board. Forter is helping create a global market platform that merchants use to ensure that fraud prevention is consumer-centric, contributing to frictionless checkout and smooth customer experience.

Michael Reitblat, CEO, Forter, says, “In today’s world of growing fraud attacks, we want to completely remove the fear of fraud from eCommerce and help retailers capture more sales. We are very excited to have Scale Venture Partners join Sequoia Capital and NEA as our partners.”

The Global Fraud Attack Index reported that online fraud attacks grew 215 per cent in 2015, and as fraudsters around the world continue to evolve their methods of attack, Forter claims that the new investment will strongly aid it in their never-ending mission to reduce e-commerce-related fraud while improving customer experience and driving sales.

Forter is known for its real-time Decision as a Service™ technology that emphasizes high approvals and stops fraudulent shoppers at the moment of checkout with an instant response, something that is made possible by the fully automated nature of the system. According to the company, the DaaS system provides retailers with a cent per cent guarantee against fraud chargebacks.

Forter is currently helping merchants grow sales by approving more orders and streamlining the shopping experience by removing friction, for smoother checkout and faster fulfilment. It aims to help merchants create a smarter and safer global marketplace within which they fight fraud, instead of having retailers working alone and unprotected.

“The e-commerce fraud ecosystem is constantly evolving, growing and becoming more complex. Forter’s intelligent, fully automated antifraud solution is unique. Combine real-time, automated fraud prevention decisions with a seasoned executive team and dedicated emphasis on research, and you get a company which is squarely in position to lead the change that online retailers need. Forter is an exciting addition to the Scale portfolio and we look forward to working with Michael and his team,” says Rory O’Driscoll, General Partner, Scale Venture Partners.