Visa talks on measures to strengthen cybersecurity, protect customers from fraud in Azerbaijan

Visa continues to improve cybersecurity measures so that customers can confidently use digital payment solutions without fear of fraud, Nurlan Hajiyev, senior director and Visa country manager in Azerbaijan, said in an interview with Report.

"We actively engage with banks and partners, helping them implement advanced solutions to protect payment data. We regularly conduct educational sessions and risk forums where the latest trends in cybersecurity and fraud prevention tools are discussed. Among the key solutions that are already successfully used in several Azerbaijani banks and ready for scaling, we can again highlight Visa Advanced Authorization and Visa Risk Manager – tools for risk assessment and transaction scoring, Visa Deep Authorization – a solution for enhanced payment authentication, especially in online transactions, Visa Protect – a comprehensive platform covering the entire payment process and preventing fraudulent operations before they occur.

One of the most effective protection mechanisms remains tokenization – it not only simplifies the payment process but also significantly reduces the risks of card data compromise. Thanks to Visa Token Service, payment details are replaced with a digital token that cannot be used outside a specific transaction. For e-commerce payment security, we are developing Visa Click to Pay – a solution that allows customers to make purchases without entering a PIN code or CVV, using biometrics or other authentication methods. This makes online payments as secure as transactions at physical points of sale," he noted.

In addition, he said that the company regularly holds educational sessions and risk forums to discuss the latest trends in cybersecurity and fraud prevention tools.

"Artificial intelligence plays a key role in preventing fraudulent transactions. In 2023 alone, Visa's AI systems helped block fraudulent transactions worth $40 billion. In 2024, as part of Visa Protect, we launched three innovative technologies. One of them is account-to-account payment protection. Using artificial intelligence, the system evaluates the risk probability for each transaction, regardless of whether the payment is made by card or through a bank transfer.

This allows financial institutions to prevent fraud by blocking suspicious transactions before they occur. Another important solution is Visa Deep Authorization. It helps identify suspicious payments made without the physical use of a card, such as online purchases or smartphone payments at points of sale. Also, last year we expanded the capabilities of Visa Risk Manager and Visa Advanced Authorization. Now these tools cover all types of card payments, regardless of the platform used, providing comprehensive protection.

Cybersource deserves special mention as one of the best solutions for protecting e-commerce from fraud. This AI-based system analyzes a wide range of data, learns in real-time, and constantly improves fraud prevention methods. The more data it processes, the more effective the protection becomes, that is, the method of fraud prevention," he added.

Full interview is available here