How Cross-Network Merchant Intelligence Transforms Risk Management into a Growth Engine

Growing a business is tough when your data lives in separate silos. For both acquirers and issuers, relying on static credit reports creates dangerous blind spots, letting sneaky scams go unnoticed while frustrating genuine cardholders.

Addressing these challenges requires a collaborative, network-wide approach. Enter Feedzai Merchant IQ Signals, a solution that connects issuers and acquirers through a real-time intelligence platform. Trusted by more than one billion customers worldwide, Feedzai’s technology helps prevent over $9 trillion in payments every year. 

In this article, we’ll examine how sharing merchant insights across networks turns risk management from a defensive hurdle into a proactive growth engine.

Key Takeaways

• Data from the US Federal Reserve found merchants absorbed almost half of reported debit-card fraud losses in 2023; that same year, issuers absorbed 28.3%, and cardholders absorbed 21.8%.¹
• Feedzai Merchant IQ Signals connects acquirers and issuers via a single API, offering live merchant behavior scores and validated risk indicators.
• Powered by 15 Feedzai clients based in Brazil, the platform covers 60% of the Brazilian acquiring market.
• Merchant IQ Score enables faster merchant onboarding, prevents chargeback penalties, and safely unlocks high-margin products like same-day payouts.
• The solution replaces blanket decline rules with precision scoring to detect social engineering scams and boost approval rates for genuine transactions.

The Hidden Cost of Isolated Payments Data

When financial institutions can’t see how merchants behave across the broader payment landscape, risks multiply quickly:

• For Acquirers: Bad actors, fake merchant accounts, and sudden fraud sprees can bypass static credit checks. Unexpected surges in chargebacks can push acquirers over card network limits, resulting in heavy fines. The financial exposure is significant: merchants absorbed 49.9% of reported debit-card fraud losses, while issuers absorbed 28.3% and cardholders 21.8% in 2023, according to the US Federal Reserve.¹ For card-not-present fraud specifically, merchants absorbed 65.1% of losses, highlighting the impact of fraud on merchants and their acquiring partners.
• For Issuers: Lacking clear visibility into unfamiliar merchants often leads to overly strict decline rules. Genuine customers end up getting blocked on real purchases, causing frustration and driving them to use competing cards.

Introducing Feedzai Merchant IQ Signals

Feedzai Merchant IQ Signals is currently a Brazil-exclusive real-time intelligence solution that links issuers and acquirers via a single API integration. With a simple transaction call, you instantly receive live behavior scores and validated risk indicators.

The shared intelligence comes from over 15 Brazilian Feedzai clients, who together provide insight into 60% of the Brazilian acquiring market. Alongside the API, the solution includes an intuitive investigation dashboard that gives analysts the broader context needed to thoroughly research and review cases.

How Merchant IQ Signals Transforms Acquirer Operations and Fuels Merchant Growth

Merchant IQ Signals builds acquirers’ confidence in merchants, turning it into a competitive advantage with faster onboarding and better approval rates. Daily cross-network intelligence lets you approve trusted merchants faster without taking on extra risk. By capturing live insights and red flags, acquirers can confidently offer lower transaction fees and provide higher-margin, higher-risk products, such as same-day payouts (D+0) and payment links, to trusted merchants. 

The solution also helps acquirers identify fraudulent entities, non-existent merchants, and risky behavior patterns before they enter the portfolio. This keeps chargeback ratios safely below card network penalty levels and protects operating margins from heavy fines.

Empowering Issuers to Stop Scams and Approve More Transactions

The solution provides issuers with the cross-network context needed to stop social engineering and payment scams while accurately approving genuine customer transactions. Rather than relying on rigid, blanket rules, issuers can apply precision scoring to block real fraud and protect legitimate cardholders’ experiences. 

Since the solution captures live transactional behavior rather than relying on negative registries, it can detect social engineering and/or payment scams long before a chargeback occurs. This means fewer false declines, safer cardholders, and a smoother checkout experience every time. 

A Frictionless API to Unleash Market Growth

You don’t need a total system overhaul to protect your business. Merchant IQ Signals works right out of the box as a standalone API. Your team can quickly integrate daily signals directly into your existing decision engine. No complex platform replacements required.

These additional insights allow institutions to accelerate onboarding confidently, offer more competitive services, approve legitimate volume, and avoid unjust declines, strengthening both merchant and customer loyalty.

By connecting issuers and acquirers through network-wide intelligence, Merchant IQ Signals proves that effective risk management doesn’t have to slow your business down. Quite the opposite, it can become a business growth engine. It’s time to move past isolated data silos and build a safer, more connected payment ecosystem together. 

If you would like to learn more about Merchant IQ Signals, you can check the webpage here.

Additional Resources

• Blog: Feedzai IQ Score: Real-time AI-powered Network Intelligence
• Report: Feedzai Fraud Readiness Index 2026
• Solution Guide: Stop Fraud, Protect Payers, and Empower Merchants
• Solution: Feedzai Merchant IQ Signals