Federal Reserve Financial Services will roll out a new network intelligence API on 28 April, giving FedNow participants access to network-level data to assess transaction risk before payments are sent.
The Federal Reserve Financial Services (FRFS) will launch a new network intelligence API for the FedNow Service on 28 April, aimed at strengthening fraud and risk controls within the US instant payments network.
The tool will be made available to early adopters, providing financial institutions and service providers with access to receiver account-level data observed across the FedNow network. This information is designed to help participants assess the risk of a transaction before it is initiated, adding an additional layer to existing internal fraud and compliance checks.
Nick Stanescu, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive of the FedNow Service, said the API would deliver “instant, network-level data insights” to complement existing risk management capabilities, giving institutions “more information – and confidence – before a transaction is made.”
The network intelligence API uses historical transaction data from across the FedNow network to generate real-time insights for participating institutions.
These insights are delivered prior to payment initiation, allowing sending institutions to incorporate external, network-wide signals alongside their own internal data when assessing a transaction.
FRFS outlined two primary use cases:
- Early risk mitigation: Institutions can use combined data inputs to identify potential risks and determine whether to proceed, delay or review a payment
- Real-time decisioning: Additional data points can support transaction risk assessments and inform user-facing messaging, such as warnings for higher-risk payments
The API is designed to integrate with existing fraud systems, with organisations testing the tool reporting relatively straightforward implementation and the ability to identify anomalies using broader behavioural trends across the network.
Part of a wider risk toolkit
The API forms part of a broader set of risk and fraud mitigation tools within the FedNow ecosystem.
FRFS confirmed it is also exploring ways to enable payee name verification for real-time payments through its FedDetect Notification Services, which would allow institutions to verify that a recipient’s name matches the account details before a payment is sent.
In addition, the organisation continues to offer its FraudClassifier model, intended to address inconsistencies in how fraud is categorised across institutions.
Risk controls evolving alongside instant payments
The introduction of the API comes as instant payment systems expand globally, with regulators and operators placing increased emphasis on pre-transaction risk controls.
In the UK, payment service providers have been required to implement Confirmation of Payee checks across the Faster Payments Service, enabling account name verification before funds are sent. The policy has been positioned by regulators as a key measure to reduce authorised push payment fraud.
Similarly, Brazil’s Pix, operated by the Central Bank of Brazil, has introduced a range of fraud mitigation features since its launch, including transaction limits, time-based restrictions and user notifications designed to flag unusual activity.
Across Europe, the Instant Payments Regulation requires payment service providers to support additional safeguards alongside faster payments, including verification mechanisms to ensure that the recipient’s details match those provided by the payer.
These developments reflect a broader shift in payment system design, where risk assessment is increasingly being embedded before the point of transaction, rather than relying solely on post-event detection or recovery.
