Fraud prevention outfit Forter closes $15m series b funding round

Source: Forter

Forter, the first fraud prevention solution to offer a real-time decision engine for online merchants, today announced it has closed a $15 million Series B round from New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Sequoia Capital.

Two of the most influential figures in venture capital – Sequoia Capital's Doug Leone and NEA's Peter Barris participated in the inauguration of Forter's new R&D center in Tel Aviv to address one of the growing concerns in ecommerce – fraud.

According to the latest industry-wide reports, in the last year alone, ecommerce fraud has nearly doubled, triggering $5 billion in losses for online merchants. Well-known breaches at brands like Target, Home Depot and JP Morgan, and the rise of new payment technologies such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet, reflect how fraud is becoming more pervasive and difficult to manage than ever before.

"There has been a growing interest among investors to find a comprehensive solution that truly eliminates the pains of fraud prevention for the merchant," said Peter Barris, managing general partner at NEA. "At the advent of widespread data breaches and major technology changes in the payments space, Forter is the first company to truly innovate and change the way merchants address fraud prevention and allow them instead to focus on growing their business."

The 2014 holiday season is projected to reach $315 billion in ecommerce sales, according to a report from eMarketer. What could be the most profitable season for retailers may also launch an equally profitable season for fraudsters. Forter is the only firm to offer a real-time, automated decision for every transaction, delivered with a simple approve or decline decision. The solution is also backed with a 100% chargeback protection guarantee. With this approach, Forter removes the hassles of traditional fraud prevention and offers retailers a way to accept more transactions while achieving the peace of mind to focus on their business, not fraud.

"Merchants have embraced Forter because its exceptional technology and ease of use eliminate the pains of fraud prevention and increases revenue," said Shmil Levy, partner at Sequoia. "As data breaches and innovations in mobile payments make it more complex to run an e-commerce business, the necessity and value of Forter's solution will only continue to grow."

"During the last year we have approved hundreds of millions of dollars worth of transactions that have allowed merchants to boost their mobile commerce, accept more international customers and significantly improve the brand experience," said Michael Reitblat, Forter CEO and co-founder. "Our merchants are shipping faster, selling more and experiencing higher customer satisfaction. The support of NEA and Sequoia will help us respond to market demand among US e-tailers by expanding our sales and marketing efforts." 

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