In-house identity teams see 53% KYA incident rate, topping hybrid and external
In-house identity teams reported know-your-agent incidents or losses at a rate of 53%, according to a PYMNTS Intelligence study produced in collaboration with Trulioo that surveyed 350 leaders in compliance, risk, fraud, underwriting, supplier acquisition and merchant monitoring at global companies. Hybrid models recorded a 28.8% incident rate, while external providers showed the lowest at 24.1%, showing a clear gap in fraud exposure between operating models and underscoring the trade‑off between security and user friction. Overall, 89.5% of organizations say managing bot traffic is a challenge, and 52.3% reported an increase in bot traffic over the prior year.
Internal teams use staff reviews in 86.4% of verification processes and report a 3.3% average false-positive rate, with 61.4% citing user abandonment as a cause of missed business opportunities. Externally managed programs have a 2.2% false-positive rate, but 82.8% cite inconsistent results from outsourced technology and 81% say the setup hinders adding customers, markets or geographies. Hybrid approaches show a 2.7% false-positive rate, yet 73.1% face credential stuffing or account takeover attempts and 60.2% observe fake account creation during sign-up. The data does not point to a single operating model that eliminates the trade-offs, as each approach presents distinct security and operational challenges.
What we know
Companies that keep digital identity verification in-house face a pronounced exposure to adversarial bots and agents: 53% report know-your-agent (KYA) related incidents or losses, compared with 28.8% of firms using a mix of internal and external teams and 24.1% of those relying on external providers.
Companies combining internal and external teams report a 2.8% KYA incident/loss rate and a 2.7% false-positive rate.
Only 24.1% of externally managed programs report KYA-related incidents or losses, and their false-positive rate is 2.2%.
The study surveyed 350 leaders in compliance, risk management, fraud, underwriting, supplier acquisition and merchant monitoring at global companies.
Overall, 89.5% of organizations say managing bot traffic is a challenge, and 52.3% reported an increase in bot traffic over the prior year.