Fighting fraud in fintech: CEO of SEON talks about crime prevention

As more and more financial institutions and fintech companies are targeted by online fraudsters, protecting businesses and their customers from such crimes has become a critical conversation. Tamas Kadar is CEO and co-founder of SEON. He and his business partner launched the company in 2017, which helps online businesses defend against fraud. SEON has been so successful that it recently raised US$94 million in a Series B funding campaign. It is also the best fraud prevention solution for Revolut, Mollie and Afterpay.

We caught up with him to find out more.

Tell us about your role and your journey to the position. What are the critical elements that led you to it?

I’ve always been interested in technology, but that interest really blossomed while I was at university when I first discovered the world of cryptocurrency. It was through this discovery that I met my friend and SEON co-founder, Bence Jendruszak. Together we started a crypto exchange, which quickly became popular in our home country of Budapest, Hungary.

Unfortunately, not long after our platform launched, it began to be targeted by fraudsters. We looked for a solution to the challenge, but there was nothing on offer. So we decided to try to fix the problem ourselves and started working on building an effective online fraud prevention solution. It was the first step on our journey towards starting SEON.

It took some tinkering, but we ended up with an online fraud prevention solution that worked very well. We implemented it on our own platform and quickly started receiving interest from other sites, thus SEON was born. It’s been an incredible journey since and we’re now the fraud prevention solution of choice for companies like Revolut, Mollie and Afterpay.

How challenging is it to create a fintech startup in today’s environment?

Starting a business is always difficult, and the current economic climate obviously compounds that challenge. But if you are able to bring a solution to the market, which solves a clear problem, it will always be well received by investors. Take SEON for example, we are able to help businesses prevent online fraud and reduce financial losses. It’s always going to be a common problem, even more so in challenging economic times.

What is the biggest mistake start-ups make that prevents success?

Sometimes you can be too influenced by other people’s opinions, which can get in the way of following your own instincts on things. Likewise, it can be very tempting to try to replicate the success of other business models, especially when they achieve short-term success. It is always important to remember what sets you and your company apart. Focusing on this uniqueness can really help in the long run.

Another mistake many startups make is hiring the right people with the talents the business needs to succeed. For us, it was very important to build a strong team of people who could offer their own ideas to help the business move forward, and we now have over 270 talented team members spread around the world.

How will the adoption of 5G affect fintech markets?

The introduction of 4G gave the fintech markets a huge advantage and I expect to see these elevated through the uptake of 5G. Lowering latency through 5G will help make fintech applications more accessible and usable, improve user experiences and help increase adoption rates. Ultimately, the technology will help more individuals benefit from innovative fintech solutions.

When you look at the fintech sector, it is one that relies on data collection, as well as the responsiveness of servers. The introduction of accessible 5G connectivity means we can now access this data in milliseconds, to the point where we can even operate remotely. It is a level of speed that could never have been previously imagined. In short, it’s going to be a great asset, and something with the potential to truly revolutionize our sector.

What is the most crucial element to succeed in building a successful fintech?

It is difficult to name just one element, as there are several ingredients needed to formulate a recipe for success. It’s always important to be curious and listen, which means you never stop learning. Another key ingredient is building a team with a clear vision of what you as a business are trying to achieve and developing an internal work culture that helps scale quickly.

Is collaboration becoming more important – and what would your advice be to someone seeking a new partnership in the current market?

I would always recommend prioritizing collaboration, as it is often the foundation of success in the fintech sector. The industry is full of talented people, both inside and outside of your business, so it’s important to partner with them as you work toward your goals. The success of a fintech can rarely be attributed to one individual, so instead look towards establishing a collective of people with different abilities and perspectives.

Asia seems to be leading the fintech start-up industry globally. Why?

First, it’s home to some of the most populous countries in the world, which naturally helps. In addition, it is a continent with high fintech adoption rates. There is research that suggests that four out of five people in China use a fintech product, which is higher than many European countries. I think the combination of these two factors makes it a real fintech hotspot and is one of the reasons we established our Jakarta office earlier this year.