Brazilian e-commerce loses between R$ 120 billion and R$ 150 billion annually due to declined payments in non-present credit card transactions. This does not happen due to lack of demand or supply issues, but due to a structural flaw in the validation of customer identity in the online environment. Data from Abecs, the Brazilian Association of Credit Card and Service Companies, show that in 2024, the online payments market moved R$ 1 trillion, and data from Unico indicate that, of this total, between 10% and 15% of purchases are denied, often without any relation to fraud.
Traditional anti-fraud systems, based on risk analysis models and some behavioral patterns, often fail to distinguish some legitimate customers from fraud attempts. The impact is directly on retailers' revenue and, mainly, on the consumers' experience, who often have their payments denied without justification, even when presenting correct data and an active card.
In this context, theUnico, identity validation network, presents at VTEX Day 2025 aUnique IDPaytechnology that has transformed facial biometrics into a driver of revenue growth and security for e-commerce. The solution combines identity authentication through a robust network of data, artificial intelligence, and behavioral information to validate high-risk online purchases with credit cards. Present in four of the five largest banks in Brazil and in over 50 brands and retailers, Unico IDPay allows financial institutions to approve e-commerce payments that would be denied by traditional methods.
The impact of this transformation is visible. Since its launch in May 2023, Unico IDPay has securely approved over R$ 11 billion in sales that would have been lost if only traditional anti-fraud and risk analysis methods had been used. Currently, the solution approves more than R$ 1.3 billion in transactions per month. These results become even more significant at the main retail peaks. On Mother's Day 2025, for example, transactions approved by the platform grew by 582% compared to the same period in 2024, jumping from R$ 42 million to R$ 291 million, in over 228,000 validated payments.
This impact generates direct benefits in the results of major retailers. During Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2024, two of Brazil's largest retail groups recorded an average growth of 75% in validated transaction volume, with an increase in GMV of up to 359%. In consecutive months, the scenario is also confirmed: "we recovered more than R$ 340 million from January to April 2025 in purchases that might not have happened if we hadn't invested in improving the consumer experience and reducing economic losses," says Vital Leite, Executive Director of Financial Solutions at Casas Bahia.
One of the reasons that increase Unico IDPay's secure approval rate and consequently boost business margins is the integration of facial biometrics directly into the purchase flow, without redirects or additional steps, which reduces cart abandonment and also significantly improves the consumer's experience at the time of payment. Unlike traditional models based on assumptions and probabilities, identity validation, combined with real-time connection to banks and card issuers, ensures that the person making the purchase is indeed the cardholder, eliminating the uncertainties and frictions that greatly harm e-commerce.
"Identity validation is no longer a barrier to fraud. It has become the engine that ensures trust, security, and growth in Brazilian e-commerce. When we turn identity into a business asset, the results are seen on the front end: more sales, less friction, and greater confidence for consumers and companies," explains Paulo Naliato, Chief Growth Officer of Unico.
New validation standard
The efficiency of Unico IDPay relies on the network effect of Unico's own technology, present in more than 23 sectors of the Brazilian economy. When a customer makes a purchase, they have already been previously validated in other digital environments, which allows biometric verification to operate in a deterministic and precise manner for identity confirmation. "When we validate with IDPay, we ensure that the person is who they claim to be," comments the executive.
In this way, the lack of recurrence in e-commerce ceases to be an obstacle. Sometimes, a payment is declined because it deviates from that person's usual behavior — whether due to a higher amount, a different item, time, or store. If this customer falls into a probabilistic model that tries to guess the risk, there is a much higher chance of being blocked. Unico's deterministic model eliminates doubt, provides more security, and improves results for all parties involved, concludes Naliato.
ServiceData:June 2 and 3, 2025
Local:São Paulo Expo – Rodovia dos Imigrantes, 1.5 km — Vila Água Funda
Booth D7
Activation at the booth:Interactive experience that takes the consumer through the purchasing journey in different non-face-to-face payment scenarios — such as credit card, payment link, and third-party card purchase — highlighting the benefits of Unico IDPay at each stage. The space will feature live demonstrations and presentations of client cases such as PagBank, Cielo, PagPlan, Trocafone, and Casas Bahia.
