PayPal acquires fraud-prevention firm Simility for $120m

By

Benjamin Fitzgerald

Published
Jun 22, 2018

After announcing plans to purchase startup payment provider Hyperwallet for $400 million on Wednesday, PayPal Holdings has confirmed it will acquire fraud-prevention firm Simility, as the global payments company looks to make e-commerce experiences faster for consumers and more secure for merchants.

“Digital commerce has exploded, and fraudsters have taken note, adapting and developing new methods to carry out their crimes,” said Bill Ready, chief operating officer, PayPal.

“PayPal has been at the forefront of developing innovative fraud prevention and risk management solutions for nearly 20 years, and now, merchants will be able to configure those solutions to manage the unique complexities of their businesses."

Via Simility, a machine learning-powered fraud detection startup, PayPal subscribers will gain access to fraud tools that are designed to be customised through the existing account management dashboard.

The tools, which adapt and evolve with each transaction, aim to enhance payment experiences for merchants and customers alike, by helping to reduce fraudulent payment activity and verify transactions that may have otherwise failed in the past.

The platform is designed to prevent myriad kinds of fraud, such as account takeover (ATO), where a bad actor tries to gain access to another person’s online account. 

“Our vision for Simility was to create an adaptive risk management platform that empowers organisations operating in a digital world to manage an evolving fraud and risk landscape,” said Rahul Pangam, co-founder and CEO, Simility. 

Founded in 2014, Simility is based in Palo Alto. PayPal is headquartered in San Jose.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018.