LONDON, UK — 26th June, 2025 — Checkout.com, a leading global digital payments provider, today announced an extension to its partnership with the Merchant Risk Council (MRC), reinforcing a shared commitment to helping its members navigate the growing complexities of digital fraud and payment risk.
The renewed multi-year agreement expands both organizations’ investment in foundational educational programs for the global payments and fraud prevention community. This includes continued support for Payments Essentials and Fraud Essentials, two industry-recognized eLearning courses designed to equip professionals with the skills needed to build secure, scalable payment infrastructures and combat fraud across channels.
The announcement comes as fraud becomes an increasing challenge for those businesses operating in today’s digital economy. Checkout.com’s Trust in the Digital Economy revealed that 40% of the global population reported being victims of payments fraud in the past 12 months. Furthermore, the MRC’s 2025 Global eCommerce and Payment and Fraud Report showed that 57% of merchants experienced increasing rates of fraud, with 22% citing increases of 50% or more.
This month, the MRC appointed Checkout.com representatives to its Regional Advisory Boards. These appointments reflect the MRC’s broader mission to unite merchants, solutions providers, issuers, acquirers, and law enforcement agencies to share fraud prevention and payment best practices, trends, and emerging threats. Jim Cho, VP Revenue, US; Maxime Colas, Director Sales, Europe; Monique Biady, Head of Commercial, Australia and Juarez Borges Filho, Country General Manager, Brazil, are now all actively engaged in the advisory board.
“We’re proud to extend our partnership with the Merchant Risk Council” said Rory O’Neill, Chief Marketing Officer, Checkout.com. “Fraud is a major challenge for all merchants, and will become a more urgent issue as the industry ushers in a new era of agentic commerce. However, we truly believe that payments is a major opportunity for merchants – and that thriving starts with education. From young students and early-stage professionals, to tomorrow’s Chief Payment Officers, Checkout.com is committed to building and sharing payments expertise that safeguards the industry, and enables businesses to thrive in the digital economy.”
“As e-commerce grows, so does online fraud – and one of our industry’s strongest defense lines is education,” commented Julie Fergerson, CEO and Co-Founder of the Merchant Risk Council. “Because when payments professionals are armed with the latest insights – through hands-on training, peer-to-peer learning and rigorous certification programs – they can identify emerging threats sooner and adapt controls more effectively. Investing in continuous education isn’t just a competitive advantage; it’s the very foundation of resilient commerce in an era of increasingly sophisticated fraud.”
The MRC is a non-profit global membership organization that connects payments and fraud prevention professionals through educational programs, online community groups, conferences, and networking events. It encompasses 750+ companies, including merchants and solution providers, and provides education on fraud prevention, payment optimization, and risk management.
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