Tackling e-commerce fraud: How
Allianz Trade pay protects B2B transactions

Published: 14 August 2025

The rise of B2B e-commerce presents opportunities for growth alongside challenges, such as cyber fraud. To protect e-commerce platforms and secure growth, businesses must implement strong anti-fraud measures.

B2B e-commerce is fast becoming the biggest growth driver of the digital economy. In early 2025, global B2B e-commerce sales reached US$7.7 trillion – more than double the total for B2C e-commerce, according to the B2B eCommerce Association.

To capitalize on this growth, cyber criminals are increasingly targeting B2B e-commerce platforms with more diverse and sophisticated fraud attacks. From invoice fraud to buyer fraud, fraudsters are continuously evolving strategies and honing new methods.  

Businesses can counteract the efforts of cyber criminals and respond effectively with innovative anti-fraud solutions like Allianz Trade pay. With a range of built-in functionalities designed specifically for B2B e-commerce businesses, Allianz Trade pay helps you mitigate fraud risks without compromising your operational efficiency nor your growth.

The shift from traditional, offline B2B business to digital transactions is driven by changing customer expectations and advancing technologies. B2B buyers rely increasingly on data and digital information to make buying decisions and prefer the speed and efficiency of online interactions over the slowness of traditional sales. For B2B sellers looking to stay competitive, this requires a move towards digital platforms and online sales channels. 

Recognizing this shift, cyber criminals are evolving their methods to target B2B e-commerce businesses: identifying weaknesses in platform security and exploiting vulnerable points along the complex buyer journeys that are typical of B2B businesses. In addition, the remote working models that many companies have embraced since the global pandemic expand these attack surfaces. With a higher proportion of day-to-day business operations now happening online, fraudsters targeting B2B companies have more potential opportunities to strike.

As fraudsters identify effective techniques to exploit businesses online, certain types of fraud are becoming more common amongst B2B e-commerce businesses. The most potentially harmful type is buyer identification (buyer ID) fraud, which was the most reported type of business fraud in 2023, according to an Allianz Trade report. It involves the impersonation of legitimate companies, or legitimate businesspeople, to make purchases, and the manipulation of delivery or payment information.

Buyer ID fraud is particularly dangerous for B2B e-commerce businesses. Because B2B transactions often rely on deferred payment terms and trust-based relationships between businesses, fraudsters have more scope to impersonate legitimate firms and receive goods and services before detection. This becomes even more likely in e-commerce environments, where orders are placed and transactions processed digitally and without human interaction.  

In addition, B2B sales cycles are typically longer than in B2C and involve multiple teams within the business, meaning buyer ID fraud can go unnoticed for weeks or months. Finally, because B2B purchases tend to be larger and high-value, cases of buyer ID fraud are more likely to lead to substantial financial losses. 

Allianz Trade pay helps B2B e-commerce businesses mitigate buyer ID fraud risks specifically. Its robust digital buyer onboarding procedure and Know Your Business (KYB) verification features help to ensure that all potential buyers are real and trustworthy, and that transactions are made to legitimate accounts. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is shaping the future of fraud, both for fraudsters themselves and their victims. On the attacker side, generative AI tools are making it easier to plan and execute buyer ID fraud at scale. For example, sophisticated fake CEO identities can now be created in seconds, using limited skills and minimal effort. AI tools can help craft fraudulent emails and written transaction requests, using near-perfect language and tone of voice in the style of individual company executives. Using AI, fraudsters can now clone the voices of business leaders and deep-fake their images, so that even trained employees struggle to spot any fraudulent communication or instructions.

These same tactics can also be used to develop and scale the identities of fake businesses, including false delivery addresses to ship goods to, and fake accounts to make fraudulent purchases and receive payments. 

However, despite these advantages to cyber criminals, AI also gives B2B e-commerce businesses more sophisticated tools in the defense against fraud. Firms can leverage AI to enhance fraud detection capabilities; for example, by detecting anomalies in customer data and flagging inconsistencies in payment behavior. AI-powered tools also have the benefit of continuously learning and feeding off existing data, making it easier for businesses to adapt to new threats and adopt new detection rules over time. As fraudsters continue to weaponize AI, it’s crucial for B2B e-commerce businesses to adopt and develop AI tools themselves.  

We’ve designed Allianz Trade pay to address the exact challenges your B2B e-commerce business is facing given today’s fraud outlook, but without adding complexity. 

Its key features include digital buyer onboarding, which incorporates fraud prevention measures by screening potential buyers at the first point of engagement. The platform’s advanced API-based technology can verify in real time if a business is legitimate and creditworthy. We check the personal credentials of the individuals who submit orders, verifying their passport, driving licence or personal ID card, for example. In addition, Allianz Trade pay leverages open banking technology (in countries where it’s available), to ensure that a buyer’s bank account is legitimate and linked to their business. Together, these features help to eliminate buyer ID fraud.

Furthermore, by automating the collection of overdue payments from customers (the dunning process), Allianz Trade pay indemnifies B2B e-merchants in cases of non-payment. This is a major safeguard, especially in cases of buyer ID fraud, where fake buyers disappear with no intention of paying. 

Finally, Allianz Trade pay leverages our partnerships with verified, pre-vetted financial institutions and buy now, pay later (BNPL) providers. This adds another layer of trust and further reduces the likelihood of fraud through third-party providers.  

B2B e-commerce is growing rapidly, but so too are the threats facing businesses that trade online. Cyber fraud is a widespread, evolving challenge that targets companies of all sizes in all sectors.

To stay ahead, businesses need solutions that go beyond passive monitoring. With Allianz Trade pay, you have a powerful tool combining buyer verification, fraud detection, and real-time protection – all embedded in one platform. 

In the fight against fraud, Allianz Trade pay delivers what B2B e-commerce businesses need – payments process that’s simple, secure, and trustworthy. Contact our A-Team for a demonstration and discover how Allianz Trade pay can secure your firm’s e-commerce growth.