SWIFT network steps up anti-fraud controls

Global payments network introduces customisable cybercrime prevention tool, giving users an edge against fraudsters

Payments network SWIFT has boosted efforts to combat money laundering and other types of fraud, with the addition of a real-time cybercrime-prevention service to its suite of facilities.

Initially aimed at smaller financial institutions and large banks – but with clear potential to expand across the broad sweep of SWIFT-using organisations – the new Payment Controls tool will enable users to screen their payment messages according to their own, customised parameters.

This will help them to immediately detect any unusual message flows prior to transmission.

According to SWIFT, the versatile tool will:

• help mitigate fraud by red flagging out-of-policy payment messages, or activity that may indicate risk;
• learn individual SWIFT users’ transaction patterns;
• spot anomalies and generate real-time alerts;
• give customers the option to put a hold on messages that do not conform to policy;
• provide secondary and independent protection complementing customers’ own systems; and
• ensure best practice for payment risk management by using community-defined risk indicators.

The service – which SWIFT describes as an “important milestone” in its overarching Customer Security Programme – will also be based on a hosted utility.

That means it can be instantly integrated with users’ systems via their current network connections, eliminating the need for onsite installation or maintenance.

SWIFT chairman Yawar Shah said: “The new payment controls service is a direct response to our community’s request for additional services to complement and strengthen existing fraud controls.

“Through the development of new products – like the Payment Controls service and the rollout of the broader Customer Security Programme – SWIFT is demonstrating its commitment to delivering innovative, community-based solutions that significantly enhance risk management in cross-border payments.”

Shah’s colleague Luc Meurant, head of the network’s financial crime compliance services, added: “Combatting fraud and cybercrime is a top priority for SWIFT and its customers.

“Our new Payment Controls service is an important step in delivering a full suite of hosted offerings that address our customers’ needs in the fraud- and cybercrime-prevention areas – as well as in the sanctions, Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering compliance domains.”

To find out more about the new Payment Controls tool, download a special SWIFT fact sheet