How Félix Enhanced Onboarding and Fraud Prevention with SEON

Félix, a US-based remittance service, is revolutionizing cross-border payments by merging the power of AI and blockchain technology with the convenience of live chat via platforms like WhatsApp. By focusing on the underbanked, Félix aims to provide seamless remittance services with a human touch, allowing customers to engage in digital transactions while maintaining the trust they would expect from in-person interactions.

The Challenge

Félix faced a significant challenge: verifying underbanked populations who were using WhatsApp to send remittances. With many of these customers lacking extensive financial histories, traditional credit checks weren’t an option. On top of that, the risk of fraud was high—particularly from users who might be using stolen cards to initiate chargebacks. As Félix rapidly expanded, they needed a robust solution to identify and filter out fraudulent users without adding friction to the onboarding process for genuine customers.

Jonathan KleinmanHead of Partnerships at Felix, stated: “We found that the barrier to sending money digitally really came down to trust. People prefer going to stores where they can talk to a human. And so we developed a chat-based solution where they’re able to get all the benefits of a digital remittance service but with a human touch”

The Solution

To address this challenge, Félix turned to SEON, specifically leveraging its digital footprinting and device intelligence capabilities. SEON’s solution was the perfect fit for the underbanked customer segment Félix serves, providing critical insights even when traditional financial records were unavailable.

• Device Intelligence and IP Detection: SEON scans thousands of device data points to detect suspicious setups, such as users connecting from high-risk locations or using VPNs and proxies. This real-time analysis helps Félix identify potentially fraudulent activity without interrupting the customer experience.
• Digital Footprinting: With many customers lacking established credit histories, SEON’s ability to profile users through their digital footprint became a game-changer. By analyzing over 100 digital and social platforms, Félix could quickly assess whether a user was likely legitimate or a potential fraud risk. This was particularly useful for customers registering with phone numbers linked to their WhatsApp accounts.

The Results

SEON’s technology has delivered substantial benefits for Félix, allowing them to maintain a high level of security while ensuring a smooth customer experience:

• Fraud rates reduced to nearly 0%: SEON’s proactive fraud detection significantly reduced fraudulent attempts, giving Félix the peace of mind to scale confidently.
• Lower onboarding dropouts: With minimal friction during verification, Félix has seen fewer customers abandoning the sign-up process, leading to higher conversion rates.
• 100% improvement in detecting multi-accounting: SEON’s comprehensive device and digital footprint analysis made it easy to spot and prevent users from creating multiple accounts, a common tactic among fraudsters.
• 90% higher confidence in transaction approvals: The enhanced data provided by SEON allows Félix to make faster, more accurate decisions, improving both efficiency and security.

The effect [of deploying SEON] was immediate and eye-opening. It’s given us the confidence to drive our growth initiatives forward at full speed, knowing we have the tools to effectively identify and mitigate fraud risks.

Jonathan Kleinman