Next generation online payments and fraud detection API for European SMEs

Project Information

PAYPLUG LABS

Grant agreement ID: 666287

DOI

10.3030/666287

Project closed

EC signature date 27 March 2015

Start date 1 June 2015

End date 31 December 2017

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Total cost

€ 2 977 725,00

EU contribution

€ 1 750 000,00

Coordinated by

PAYPLUG
France

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - PAYPLUG LABS (Next generation online payments and fraud detection API for European SMEs)

Reporting period: 2017-02-01 to 2017-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The EU has stated that the number of SMEs selling online must increase to enable Europe to meet its economic growth targets and create jobs. However, the EU’s target for 33% of SMEs to be selling online by 2015 was far from met – reaching only 16,7% at the end of 2015.

The aim of the PayPlug Labs project was to help European SMEs sell online, by developing an online payment system that offers advanced payment features while remaining incredibly simple to implement. The project targets European SMEs who wish to offer online payments but struggle with existing payment systems that are complex and expensive to implement, and leave businesses vulnerable to fraudulent transactions.

The project involved developing a next generation payment platform that offers advanced payment features but remains simple to integrate. It also focused on developing innovative fraud detection tools that can protect online merchants from fraudulent transactions and enable PayPlug to register new merchants securely and rapidly. Developing secure systems and robust infrastructure were also key project priorities.

The project was carried out by a sole beneficiary, PayPlug, a French SME founded in 2012 with the aim of bringing online payment solutions to freelancers, micro-businesses and (via the PAYPLUG labs project), to Europe’s SMEs.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project ran from June 2015 to December 2017. During the final reporting period (RP3), we finalized all remaining tasks, validated the system performance and implemented new modifications and features as a result of user-feedback.

With regards to the development of the API (WP1), the main focus of RP3 was work on banking integration, transactional reconciliation and invoicing. Furthermore, as a result of user-feedback and our experience in managing ever greater transaction loads, we also focused on extending the functionalities of our solution (billing management, payment pages, onboarding, etc).

While work on detecting fraudulent transactions was largely completed by the end of RP2, work in RP3 focused on detection fraudulent merchants (WP2), by developing innovative algorithms and tools for the streamlining of merchant activation and monitoring. Finally, we focused on finalizing the new system architecture (WP4), through the continued implementation of the planned system design and implementation of new features that are better adapted to the growing system load.

Work on project management and commercial development continued at a strong pace throughout the final project period, with the development of the new pricing model, a formalized commercialisation strategy and the publication of white papers and numerous other dissemination resources.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The technical challenge at the heart of our project is the provision of advanced payment features and fraud protection via a simple and rapid-to-implement solution that can be used by any developer. The work on innovative fraud detection tools has enabled us to develop a payment solution that is unique on the market.

Our commercial development continues to experience a significant growth as a result of the PAYPLUG LABS project. The number of SME users of PayPlug continues to grow and PayPlug is already present in three European countries (France, Spain and Italy). The team has now counts 38 staff and the volume of payments processed more than doubled in 2017 over 2016.

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