SWIFT, the global standards body and network for cross-border financial transactions, has announced the release of a new cloud-based transaction fraud detection service.
According to the Belgium-based SWIFT group, the ‘Payment Controls’ service will offer real-time fraud risk detection and reporting capabilities for participating institutions.
“The service may be set to flag, hold, release or reject high risk or uncharacteristic payments in real-time, according to business needs,” SWIFT confirmed in a release.
Hosted in SWIFT’s own proprietary cloud, existing partners will have immediate access to the Payment Controls service without added hardware or software installations or maintenance.
Mark McNulty, Head of Global Clearing and FI payments at Citi, said the Payment Controls service provides a “very welcome step towards reinforcing and safeguarding the security of our ecosystem.”
“For banks, it screens transactions in-flight and flags, holds or rejects transactions based on risk policies – ultimately protecting their operations, fighting cyber-crime and making the community safer for everyone.”
SWIFT will also introduce a new ‘stop and recall’ capability within the Controls service that allows banks to immediately stop and recall a payment anywhere in the chain.
“The new feature will provide another barrier against fraud – mitigating business disruption and financial losses in the face of rising threats,” SWIFT said.
Online and mobile payment fraud remains a significant concern among consumers in SE Asia region, with ASEAN financial services lagging behind their Asia-Pacific counterparts in industry rankings. According to the Experian’s Digital Trust Index, which rates consumer trust levels for fraud detection and protection among APAC’s financial services, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia-based institutions averaged less than 2.3 out of 10 on the Index.
Though less than stellar in their own right, New Zealand, Japan and Australia-based institutions ranked the highest among APAC consumers for anti-fraud contingencies, averaging just over 4.0 out of 10 on the Index.
