Mexican fraud prevention startup, Bayonet, raises US$500,000

Contxto – Mexican fraud-prevention startup, Bayonet raised an investment for nearly US$500,000 from various investors, according to an announcement made last week. Funds stemmed from Avalancha Ventures, Soldiers Field Angels, and 0BS. Payment solutions provider, Mercadotencia, Ideas y Tecnología (MIT) as well as Rappi’s co-founders also invested.

Bayonet will use 90 percent of these investment funds to expand its team of engineers. The remainder will go towards marketing strategies. 

e-Commerce solution for fraud prevention

Vendors loathe fraudsters because they must cover the loss, not to mention the operational efforts that refund processes bring about. As a result, often retailers or other sellers implement mechanisms to protect themselves. For example, their system may decline a legitimate payment because it believes the transaction is fraudulent.

With Bayonet, e-commerce sites can better differentiate between a legit purchase and posers. This is possible thanks to its use of big data and artificial intelligence (AI) tech to identify red flags for fraud in a matter of milliseconds.

It’s also important to note that this validation procedure is completed before the payment processor even completes the transaction. Which naturally saves everyone a lot of trouble.

Imran Arshad and José Andrés Chávez founded this business-to-business (B2B) startup in 2016. Since then, it’s collaborated with big name brands like brewing conglomerate Grupo Modelo, as well as Mexican ticket sales and distributor, Boletia.

Due to the role this startup plays in the flow of an e-commerce site, it’s not surprising that MIT (the Mexican company, not the university, mind you) has an interest in its success. Moreover, the pair are in cahoots to jointly develop payment solutions for various business models.

Previously, on e-commerce trends in Latin America…

For many users in the region, security and fraud are primary concerns when partaking in e-commerce. Unfortunately, identity theft and misuse of sensitive information have increasingly led to the growth of cybersecurity risks in the region.

So it’s not really surprising to see the rise of B2B solutions like Bayonet or Ecuadorian Kriptos that help businesses enhance security.

The need for fraud prevention is a pressing matter throughout Latin America. This is why these types of startups are also an emerging trend and investors know it. There will surely be more to come followed of course, by further funding.

-ML