The subscription economy has changed the way we live. From the way we stream shows, book travel, and shop for essentials to the way we access fitness, gaming, and learning — consumers are choosing access over ownership. The subscription economy has unlocked incredible growth, but it's also opened the door to a new, more sophisticated class of fraud. If your prevention strategy is a few years old, you're not just losing money — you're losing customers.

Chief among them? Fraud.

The rising cost of fraud

Fraud today doesn’t look like it did five years ago. It’s more sophisticated, more organized, and more damaging. We’re seeing AI-driven attacks, synthetic identities, and deepfake technologies that make fraud harder to spot and more costly than ever. 

Our State of Subscriptions 2025 report shows fraud attempts are up 42% year over year. And e-commerce fraud overall is projected to surpass $100 billion by the end of the decade.

For your subscription business, this isn't just a line item on a spreadsheet. It’s a direct hit to your growth engine, causing:

  • Frustrating False Declines: Good customers are blocked, damaging their trust and costing you revenue.

  • Increased Customer Churn: Poor experiences and security concerns drive subscribers away.

  • Reputational Damage: A single major incident can erode the brand loyalty you've worked so hard to build.

Protecting your revenue is no longer a back-office task; it's a boardroom priority. And it requires a modern, dynamic defense. Fraud prevention strategies from five years ago are no longer effective today.

Why Recurly

At Recurly, our mission has always been to help brands grow subscriptions without limits. That means solving the tough problems that stand in the way — whether it’s churn, failed payments, or fraud. We are always looking for a way to protect both merchants and customers from bad actors. 

Several years ago, we saw an opportunity to partner with the best in the industry to protect our customers against fraud. That’s why we teamed up with Equifax.

Equifax brings world-class expertise in identity, fraud, and risk intelligence through the Kount® 360 platform. Their technology was built to stop fraud before it hits the bottom line — and to do it without adding friction for legitimate subscribers. Pair that with Recurly’s leadership in managing the full subscription lifecycle — billing, payments, engagement, and retention — and it’s a powerful combination.

For years, our joint customers have benefited from the Recurly and Equifax partnership. Together, we’ve helped subscription businesses:

  • Stop fraud before it happens with real-time, AI-powered detection across billions of data points

  • Reduce false declines so more legitimate subscribers get through and revenue isn’t left on the table

  • Protect subscriber experiences by ensuring seamless, trusted transactions that build loyalty

  • Scale globally with confidence, knowing their fraud prevention and compliance keep pace with their growth

This isn’t theory. Brands like Nuuly, Alaska Airlines, and Twitch trust Recurly to power and protect their subscription revenue, and Equifax plays a critical role in making that possible.

Built on shared values

What makes this partnership work isn’t just technology — it’s alignment.

At Recurly, we pride ourselves on being more than a platform. We’re a growth partner, obsessed with helping our customers succeed. Together, we’ve built a partnership that feels seamless because we’re both working toward the same goal: helping businesses grow without compromise.

As Joe Rohrlich, CEO of Recurly, puts it:

“Fraud is one of the biggest risks to subscription growth today. By partnering with Equifax, we’re giving brands the confidence to scale without limits — knowing their revenue and their customers are protected.”

A partnership that evolves with the market

The fraud landscape is constantly evolving. Every year, new risks emerge. Every year, attackers get smarter. But that’s exactly why our partnership with Equifax is so valuable — it  allows Recurly’s platform to grow stronger over time.

We’ve gone from protecting transactions to helping subscription leaders make smarter decisions across the entire subscriber lifecycle. With assistance from Equifax, Recurly is addressing not just fraud, but also identity verification, credit insights, and risk management — the foundational elements of sustainable, profitable growth.

Growth, protected

The subscription economy isn’t slowing down. If anything, it’s accelerating as more industries adopt recurring revenue models. That means more opportunity, but also more complexity.

With Recurly, subscription businesses don’t have to choose between growth and protection. They get both:

  • A growth engine that optimizes every part of the subscriber journey

  • Fraud prevention that keeps revenue secure and customer trust intact

That’s the power of a partnership built to last.

Recurly. Growth protected. Trust unlocked. 

Learn more about our fraud management here.