Pay.UK, a central infrastructure provider for payment services in the UK, has declared a unique partnership with global payments giant, Visa, predictive analytics company, Synectics Solutions, and AI-based fraud prevention firm, Featurespace.
The collaboration marks an industry-first aimed at enhancing fraud detection and prevention.
This initiative emerges in response to a persistent increase in fraudulent activities impacting the UK payments industry. Through the consolidated use of data from numerous banks and payment service providers (PSPs), it aims to proactively detect and prevent criminal activity before any damage is done.
Pay.UK operates as the country’s main provider of payment services, establishing industry standards and promoting efficient, secure operations. On the other hand, Visa, a global leader in digital payments, streamlines transactions for consumers, businesses, banks, and governments worldwide. Synectics Solutions, another key player, specialises in creating predictive data analytics solutions, whereas Featurespace focuses on adaptive behavioural analytics, utilising machine learning to detect anomalies and prevent fraud.
The partnership holds significant potential benefits, as all partners involved in the pilot will gain access to historic Faster Payments transactional data from participating banks and PSPs under an innovative data-sharing agreement. In doing so, Synectics Solutions and Featurespace will develop AI and machine learning models to pinpoint suspicious activities and compare these to known fraudulent behaviours.
The project, upon successful testing, aims to provide a new product to payment service providers to combat fraud, building upon the successful anti-fraud tool, Confirmation of Payee, introduced by Pay.UK in 2020. It is noteworthy that data security holds prime importance, with Pay.UK working in tandem with banks, PSPs, suppliers, and legal counsel for almost a year to ensure secure and legitimate data processing.
Further details highlight plans to integrate the service into the New Payments Architecture (NPA), Pay.UK’s upcoming upgrade to the UK payments system designed to enhance choice, speed, and security for users across the country.
Pay.UK’s Chief Business Development Officer and Anti-Fraud Lead, Kate Frankish, commented on the initiative, stating, “Fraud is one of the biggest challenges we face today, with more people than ever feeling its devastating financial and emotional impact.
“Fraud losses exceeded £1bn last year, which is equivalent to around £2,300 being stolen every minute. To outpace the scammers, we will need to work together, with better collaboration and knowledge sharing. That’s why Pay.UK is bringing the payments industry together to share data and resources. This announcement is a UK first and a major step in the right direction, made possible by Pay.UK’s convening power at the heart of the payments system.”
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