The digitalization of business-to-business (B2B) trade is, for the most part, a net positive. It has made transactions faster, enabled traders to expand their market reach and seen both buyers and sellers reduce costs and overheads. But it’s also brought challenges. Among them is increased fraud risk – and businesses are in urgent need of solutions. Allianz Trade pay, our new set of tools for B2B companies selling online, answers that need.

KYC vs KYB

Imagine you are a wholesale timber company, and that your customers are furniture makers of all sizes. It’s typical in your sector to offer deferred payment terms to customers (or buyers as they’re known in B2B trade).

You want to scale up your operations and start selling timber online – but how do you manage the influx of new customers, some of whom aren’t familiar to you? Do you extend credit and take on additional risk, or do you establish a time-consuming manual KYB process, researching new customers one by one?

The KYB service that we have developed for Allianz Trade pay checks two things. First, the existence and creditworthiness of the company making a purchase. Second, the identity of the purchaser – and their connection with said company.

The key to Knowing Your Buyer

Any B2B company that wants to launch an online marketplace is likely to face this situation: an uptick in new and unfamiliar customers and prospects. How they balance these needs and risks (a smooth onboarding journey and rigorous anti-fraud checks, for instance) without losing customers along the way is essential to the success of this new business model.

On the other side of this picture is the buyer, looking to purchase goods online from a new vendor. At the checkout they’re asked to enter their company’s name, address and registration number, and then wait as the merchant performs additional verification and anti-fraud checks manually in a process that can take weeks.

Allianz Trade pay simplifies and accelerates these checks for both buyers and sellers, helping businesses trade online without compromising on security.

Thanks to our extensive company database, Allianz Trade pay can instantly check a company’s existence around the world and assess its creditworthiness through address or registration number. We have also partnered with leading third-party providers to reinforce identity checks. These third parties use Open Banking or ID check technology amongst other verification methods. So now, at the checkout, the buyer can simply enter their company address and complete one of the available identity checks. And just like that, their company is verified.

What Allianz Trade offers is a plug-and-play solution – one that addresses the real pain points of any business trading online.

Enabling pivotal transformations

The key to developing a strong product is interacting with clients. So, that’s what we did when developing Allianz Trade pay. We worked alongside our major clients in the retail industry, listening to their challenges and integrating their feedback into our product. We also explored questions such as what kinds of checks we should use, and how many, to strike a balance between security and conversion from prospect to buyer.

The result is a fraud detection solution that is easy to implement internally and enables sellers to digitally onboard buyers within minutes. In addition, our KYB offer works as a standalone tool, helping large companies rapidly onboard large volumes of customers.

Meeting evolving business needs

Whether used individually or as part of our larger digital payment offering, Allianz Trade pay enables B2B e-commerce players to strengthen their KYB practices.

Of course, we are committed to staying ahead of the curve. By leveraging our expertise and collaborating with our customers and partners, we will ensure that Allianz Trade pay responds to new risks and continues to meet companies’ needs in the long-term.