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Five Australian banks have joined the , a first-of-its-kind pilot for the sharing of behaviour-based intelligence to combat fraud and scams.
The pilot will connect ANZ, NAB, Westpac, Suncorp and Commonwealth Bank within a single network, where transacting accounts will be subject to real-time risk assessments.
The network aims to protect member bank customers by assessing in real time the trustworthiness of the accounts to which they direct their transfers and payments.
It combines country-specific digital session data with payment, account, device, IP, geo-location and non-monetary event signals to evaluate the trustworthiness of all receiving accounts before a payment is processed.
If the network deems a receiving account untrustworthy, it shares this intelligence with the sending bank in real time, allowing the sending institution to suspend and investigate the transaction before any money leaves the sender’s account.
The banks hope that BioCatch Trust Network will help prevent authorised push payment (APP) fraud, where the fraudster manipulates the victim outside of a digital banking session prior to including a payment.
They also hope to identify mule accounts faster and more effectively, so that scam proceeds cannot be laundered from an account at one institution to another following a successful scam.
The BioCatch Trust Network uses pseudonymisation technology to ensure that the identities of the transacting parties are protected, even when risks are identified.
This means that banks can take part in the network while also maintaining compliance with data protection laws.
´¡²õÌýcovered by ÂÜÀòžž, payments experts speaking at Financial Crime 360 in London last month called for similar mechanisms to share risk information without exposing customer data.
Following the launch of the Australia pilot, BioCatch said it expects similar networks serving other countries to go live throughout 2025.
The BioCatch Trust Network is expected to complement existing networks that are used to share information after a scam has taken place.
°Õ³ó±ðÌý, for example, allows businesses, government agencies, law enforcement and industry groups to access financial crime intelligence through a shared platform.
It will also complement Australia’s Scams Prevention Framework, a new set of cross-sector legislative proposals that will force banks, telcos and social media companies to implement specific anti-scam controls.
If firms’ controls do not meet the standards set out in the framework, they can be subject to fines of up to A$50m (US$33m).
The Scams Prevention Framework was introduced to parliament in September and is expected to be enacted with cross-party support.
