Financial Crime & Fraud


The changing face of financial crime compliance

Paul Taylor of Swift’s Financial Crime Compliance Services Division discusses the evolving compliance landscape and the critical role of technology in helping the industry come together as a whole to combat financial crime.

E-book: How Digital Lenders Can Win the Fight Against Fraud

Ready for the truth about fighting fraud? It’s not as futile as you might think. Yes, fraud is hitting digital lenders of all sizes… Pretty sizably. But recent research shows that with the right approach, it is possible to stop the bad guys and stem the losses—without slowing opportunity. Secrets of Success: How Digital Lenders […]

Crime thriller: Trading Down, by Stephen Norman

A sneak preview of a debut novel by Stephen Norman, long serving CIO/CTO of RBS Global Markets and previously Merrill Lynch. A fast-paced crime thriller – published on 9 November 2017.

EastNets unveils real-time fraud detection solution

EastNets has launched its en.SafeWatch PaymentGuard (en.SWPG) at Sibos, a real-time fraud detection solution for Swift payments. The company says en.SWPG is a new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solution, that can sort out “genuine transactions from suspicious ones and reduces the number of false positives”. Hazem Mulhim, CEO, EastNets, says it “recognises the mounting salience of […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 3 August 2017

Following on from Tuesday’s (1 August) round-up, here’s more action from the busy blockchain and Bitcoin scene. Features Gwyneth Paltrow (yes, really), Abra, Gibraltar Stock Exchange and WannaCry. Actress and food writer Gwyneth Paltrow has joined Abra, a Bitcoin-based digital wallet app, as an advisor. In an episode of American reality show “Planet of the […]

Hello Soda’s new platform has a pop at dark web fraud

Big data and text analytics firm Hello Soda has launched Fraud Web, a new software solution built to combat identity fraud committed through the untraceable internet. The company says Fraud Web identifies the risk of consumer data being available for sale on the dark web and issues high, medium and low risk alerts so that […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 1 August 2017

The world of blockchain and Bitcoin rumbles on with patents, platforms and positives. Our latest round-up features Bank of America, Blackmoon Financial Group, and research from Cognizant. Bank of America (BofA) has filed three new patents using blockchain. On the US Patent & Trademark Office’s website it now reveals the details. Some of the patents […]

Belize’s central bank selects Swift to combat financial crime

The Central Bank of Belize has chosen Swift’s Sanctions Screening solution to combat financial crime and put in compliance controls. The bank says: “Implementing the right compliance controls within an organisation is not only a regulatory responsibility, but also a priority for global security.” Juan Martínez, managing director Latin America and the Caribbean, Swift, says […]

Mexico-based MIT taps Featurespace for payments fraud prevention

Machine learning continues to take center stage in fraud prevention for the payments industry. Mexico-based payments processor MIT will use U.K.-based Featurespaces’ real-time, machine-learning platform to detect anomalies in individual behavior for fraud and risk management for its 17,000 merchant partners.

Mastercard Buys in to AI with Brighterion

Mastercard has entered into an agreement to acquire Brighterion Inc., a software company specializing in artificial intelligence. This acquisition follows Masterdard’s March acquisition of NuData Security and will further expand Mastercard’s capabilities to “deliver an enhanced customer experience and security.”

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 10 July 2017

Reading doesn’t have to be a trial. Our latest blockchain and Bitcoin round-up keeps it ultra-brief. Featuring Mt. Gox, less than smooth criminals, the Council of the European Union and Coinsource. Mark Karpeles, the former CEO of collapsed Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, will go on trial in Tokyo next week on charges stemming from the […]

People on the Move: W2 Global Data

U.K.-based W2 Global Data, a provider of regulatory, KYC/AML and fraud prevention solutions, has welcomed three new hires, including Alex Lafferty, Richard Evans and Kerry Cleary.

People on the Move: RiskIQ

Digital threat management firm RiskIQ has expanded its management team with three new executive appointments, including Nick Puetz, Jenna Raby and Clarence Cheuk.

SEC Files Fraud Charges in Bitcoin, Office Space Scams

A U.K. citizen living in New York is facing fraud charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in relation to two bogus investment schemes. Renwick Haddow allegedly reaped millions of dollars from investors in his supposed bitcoin platform Bitcoin Store Inc. and in Bar Works Inc., which offers office space in renovated restaurants and bars.

Money20/20 Europe: let AI negotiate

Are trends eclectic for artificial intelligence (AI)? Perhaps not as the fintech world is getting more imaginative and calling for the machines to negotiate on behalf of less-than-objective humans. At this morning’s (26 June) sessions at Money20/20 in Copenhagen, the themes of AI use cases in financial services and fraud were discussed.

Finastra heads to IBM cloud for digital banking

Fintech titan Finastra is turning to IBM to power its banking operations with cloud and cognitive technologies. As reported yesterday (14 June), Misys and DH Corporation (D+H) joined forces to create Finastra, the third largest financial services technology company in the world. With Finastra now officially alive and kicking, it’s wasted no time in showing […]

Want to Fight Fraud? Join the Team—Literally

All payment providers and merchants grasp the dynamic nature of fraud. But fraud prevention requires more than the latest software and security protections—it requires active collaboration. Here’s why.

Visa Bolsters Transaction Security

Visa is beefing up its Verified by Visa authentication service. The payments network said it’s upgrading its back-end to support 3-D Secure 2.0. The 3-D Secure messaging protocol was invented by the network more than 15 years ago and has become an industry standard for online authentication.

Fintech funding round-up: 30 May 2017

It’s all go for money flow. Our latest fintech funding round-up, featuring NetGuardians, Banco BNI Europa, Raize and Wave. Swiss fraud prevention vendor NetGuardians has reported a Series C investment of CHF 8.5 million ($8.7 million). The investors in this round are Swisscom Ventures and Freemont Management. The financing will be used to fund NetGuardians’ […]

U.S. EMV Hits Milestone: 1 Billion Visa Chip Transactions in March

U.S. EMV use has hit a milestone. Visa said that for the first time, the number of Visa chip card transactions topped 1 billion last month, a 330 percent increase from March 2016. The announcement comes as the payment network reported a 42 percent overall increase in processed transactions in its 2017 fiscal second quarter.

Kid me not fraud with GoHenry digital deal

GoHenry, a UK-based digital banking solution to help young people manage their money, has appointed fraud prevention firm Featurespace to safeguard customers’ accounts. GoHenry was founded by a group of parents to help young people aged six to 18 “learn good money habits”. It is a subscription service, which offers a prepaid debit card and […]

SWIFT Strengthens Security with New Payment Controls

SWIFT has launched a real-time payment controls service to add to its customers’ existing fraud controls. The fraud and cybercrime prevention service permits its customers to screen their payment messages according to their own chosen parameters, “enabling them to immediately detect any unusual message flows before transmission,” according to an April 12 company announcement.

Swift calling time on cybercrime with new payment controls

Swift has unveiled a new real-time payment controls service to add to its customers’ existing fraud controls. The new fraud and cybercrime prevention service will enable its customers to screen their payment messages according to their own chosen parameters, “enabling them to immediately detect any unusual message flows before transmission”. Yawar Shah, chairman of Swift, […]

Are You Protected from Contact Center Fraud?

Payments companies are used to defending themselves against fraud from all sorts of angles, but they would do well to mind the phones. By 2020, 75 percent of omni-channel, customer-facing companies will face a targeted attack, with the contact center as the primary point of compromise, according to Gartner research.

Mastercard buys NuData Security for IoT spree

Mastercard will acquire Vancouver-based biometrics firm NuData Security as it looks to make something out of the internet of things (IoT). NuData provides online and mobile anti-fraud solutions using session and biometric indicators. Mastercard will integrate NuData to its suite of fraud management and security products. Ajay Bhalla, president of enterprise risk and security for […]

A vaccination for financial crime

ransaction monitoring is emerging as one of the top priorities for banks and other financial institutions. Some now employ up to three per cent of their workforce to track financial crime. But, as leadership teams look to increase the effectiveness of their processes in the face of regulatory scrutiny and reduce costs, are there lessons to be learnt from health industry and its battle against infectious diseases?