According to Paysafe research, nearly 60 percent of Americans feel that becoming victims of fraud is inevitable when shopping online.

While 67 percent of American businesses expect that tighter security measures would result in a loss of online shoppers, the report suggests that 58 percent of consumers would accept and use any available measure to eliminate fraud, and that 71 percent of consumers would be open to somewhat more stringent verification methods, such as two-step authentication.

Only 12 percent of shoppers indicated that security measures had caused them to abandon online shopping carts. In comparison, 37 percent said that hidden fees and delivery charges would cause them to stop a transaction in progress.

Many merchants have two conflicting goals when balancing risk and revenue generation, according to the report: 67 percent of businesses desire to grow customer sign-ups and transaction volumes by reducing risk thresholds for identity verification, while 76 percent want to produce more effective verification in order to decrease fraud.

The report also suggests that fraud prevention is a top priority among 73 percent of businesses, with 47 percent of businesses saying that more than 5 percent of their transactions are fraudulent. The report indicates that eight out of 10 businesses expect to spend more on fraud in the next year or two, usually by more than 11 percent.

Discussing the research, Todd Linden, CEO of Paysafe Payment Processing, stated: “For years, consumers have had to overcome the apprehension that businesses know too much about them – from shoe sizes to food preferences. But as the payment world evolves, it is this knowledge that will make individuals more secure. The evolution of big data will make payments smarter and easier, and help to redress the balance between security and convenience. Big data will be the ultimate key to tightening up security at POS, online and in brick-and-mortar environments.”