Visa using AI to protect Australians from payment fraud

Visa has revealed that its AI-based real-time payment fraud monitoring solution Visa Advanced Authorisation (VAA) helped Australian financial institutions prevent $714 million in fraud within the 12-month period ending in March 2023.

VAA uses neural network technology modelled on the human brain to help assess more than 500 risk attributes to a transaction in just one millisecond. The company uses the technology to generate a real-time risk score of all transactions across the VisaNet payment ecosystem.

Visa plans to build on these capabilities and bring its real-time payment fraud protection service to Australia this year, according to Visa Head of Risk for Asia-Pacific Joe Cunningham.

The service uses deep learning artificial intelligence models to help financial institutions detect clusters of potential scam behaviours in real time. Transaction scores can also be accessed through APIs and incorporated into existing risk and fraud management tools and processes.

“Preventing more than $700 million in fraud is an incredible testament to Visa’s AI-powered security capabilities, yet is also a sobering reminder that security has to keep pace with innovation. As new ways to buy, sell and move money become popular with consumers and businesses, they become equally popular with fraudsters seeking to exploit any vulnerabilities in the system,” he said. “In particular, growth of real-time payments within Australia and across the wider Asia–Pacific region presents a challenge for financial institutions to balance the convenience of near-instant payment with the need for security. We’re finding that a little friction in the system to help assess risk can be a good thing.”

Image credit: iStock.com/weerapatkiatdumrong