Swift has announced the launch of new AI-driven fraud detection to strengthen the global payment industry’s defences against “increasingly sophisticated” threats.
Swift aims to utilise artificial intelligence (AI) to detect anomalies in customer transactions and identify suspicious patterns in real-time, minimising fraud risk and ensuring a safer banking experience for clients.
This new capability enhances Swift’s existing Payment Controls Service, used by numerous small and medium-sized financial institutions. It leverages pseudonymised data from billions of transactions processed on the Swift network each year to identify and flag suspicious activities.
Jerome Piens, Chief Product Officer at Swift, said: “Bad actors are using increasingly sophisticated tactics to commit financial crime, and the global financial industry needs to raise its defences higher to ensure their customers can continue to transact globally with confidence.
“Swift has a long track record of supporting our community by staying one step ahead to maintain the security and resilience that our network is known for – and now we’re doing so again by harnessing the latest technology.”
Since February, major global financial institutions have been collaborating with Swift to explore the potential of federated learning and privacy-enhancing technologies. This initiative aims to enable market participants to share information without compromising proprietary data.
The group has created several fraud detection use cases, which are now scheduled for testing in a sandbox environment. In June, Swift announced two experiments with its member banks to examine AI’s use.
A spokesperson for BNP Paribas commented: “Collaboration across the banking sector is crucial to enhancing fraud detection, and by sharing data and leveraging AI, we empower ourselves to stay ahead.
“At BNP Paribas, we are fully committed to supporting Swift’s innovative initiative in that regard, as it marks a key step forward in protecting the integrity of our financial ecosystem.”
