HomeChoice fights online fraud with award winning tech

According to KPMG’s recent report into risks for the South African retail market, competition is one of the biggest threats. With online sales increasing by 23% in South Africa in 2016, retailers need to provide a seamless customer experience to stay competitive.

The HomeChoice Group is the largest home shopping retailer in South Africa selling homeware merchandise and financial services to the expanding urban, middle-income mass market. HomeChoice offers its customers the option to apply for a credit account, to spread the cost of purchases over a period of months. GBG’s application fraud solution, GBG Instinct, enables the company to make quick, data-driven decisions on new applicants.

The solution works by comparing information provided during the customer application process against historical application data, any existing confirmed fraud databases and reference tables. It does this using bespoke rulesets and application fraud scores. This means no delays for good customers, high fraud identification rates, and far fewer time-wasting false positives.

Francois Grobler, Chief Risk Director at HomeChoice says: “We’re pleased to work with GBG, which, like us, puts customers at the heart of everything it does. With GBG Instinct, our customers have peace of mind knowing they can make purchases for their home without a lengthy delay.

“Fraud is a growing threat faced by the eCommerce industry, and the methods used by fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated. It’s essential that we continue to use technology which keeps up with the rate of innovation to stay ahead of the competition.”

Vesa Manninen, Regional Manager at GBG says: “HomeChoice is at the forefront of the retail industry when it comes to online customer support. We’re delighted to work with a company that focuses on creating an outstanding customer experience.”

GBG Instinct recently won Best Anti-Fraud Solution at the UK Credit and Collections Awards 2017.

-ENDS-

Media enquiries:

Lauren James, PR & Social Media Manager, GBG

E: lauren.james@gbgplc.com

T: +44 (0) 7989 151962

About HomeChoice

HomeChoice International PLC (HIL) is an investment holding company incorporated in Malta and listed on the JSE Limited. Through its operating subsidiaries, HomeChoice and FinChoice, the group sells innovative homewares merchandise, personal electronics and loan products to the rapidly expanding middle-income market in southern Africa through mail order (catalogue), electronic channels (Internet and mobile phone) and call centres.

The group was restructured during 2014 to facilitate expansion outside South Africa, a further step towards achieving its ambitions of becoming a pan-African retailer. HIL was established as an offshore holding company and was listed in the General Retailers sector on the JSE Limited in December 2014 with a market capitalisation of R3 billion.

The group has three operating segments:

• RETAIL HomeChoice is an omnichannel home shopping retailer offering an extensive range of household textiles and homeware merchandise on credit through a convenient shopping experience, together with a home delivery service. The product offering has broadened under the FoneChoice brand to include personal electronics.
• FINANCIAL SERVICES FinChoice is a niche provider of unsecured personal loan products to HomeChoice customers with good credit records. FinChoice leverages the HomeChoice customer database and marketing platforms to acquire loan customers at low cost and predictable repayment behaviour. The business focuses on short term and low-value loans.
• PROPERTY The group owns the head office building and a centralised distribution centre in Cape Town, as well as additional land adjacent to the head office, which is currently being developed into a new call centre facility.