Emirates NBD, a leading banking group in the MENAT (Middle East, North Africa, and Türkiye) region, announced a strategic partnership with Silent Eight, a technology company that offers an advanced AI and machine learning platform to identify and prevent financial crime.

The partnership is in line with Emirates NBD’s vision to be the most innovative bank for its customers, people, and communities, and follows a successful Proof of Value (PoV) engagement that demonstrated Silent Eight's ability to automate the alert screening investigation process and improve the efficiency, accuracy, and auditability of the bank's compliance operations.

In collaboration with Emirates NBD’s FinTech Partnership and Engagement Team, the PoV was involved in testing Silent Eight's solution on alerts generated by the bank's screening system.  The solution uses natural language processing and machine learning to replicate human reasoning and decision-making based on historical alert data and continuous learning. The solution was able to solve close to a third of the alerts in the scope of the PoV, explain the resolutions with clear narratives, and close the alerts with zero error rates.

Based on the successful results of the PoV, Emirates NBD has decided to deploy the Silent Eight solution to reduce reliance on human investigators, lowering operational costs, and enhance the customer experience by minimizing the delays and requests for information caused by false positive alerts.

Following significant innovation in digital banking, wealth management, remittances and payments, Emirates NBD is further championing digital operational transformation by incorporating AI technology into its robust compliance program. The move strengthens Emirates NBD’s commitment to align with the UAE’s increased focus on the supervision and enforcement of anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, and targeted financial sanctions regimes.

Abdulla Qassem, Group Chief Operating Officer at Emirates NBD, said: “We are thrilled to join forces with Silent Eight to improve our operational efficiencies and foster innovation. As a regional banking leader, Emirates NBD is setting a new standard of excellence in providing a safe and secure banking experience for our customers. This collaboration is a testament to Emirates NBD’s commitment to embracing cutting-edge technologies and pushing boundaries to deliver agility and optimise productivity.”

Victor Matafonov, Group Chief Compliance Officer at Emirates NBD, said: "We are delighted to partner with Silent Eight, a leading innovator in the field of AI-driven compliance solutions. This partnership aligns with our vision of becoming a digital leader in the region and our commitment to adopting world-class technologies that enhance our risk management capabilities and operational efficiency. We are confident that Silent Eight’s IRIS module will bring significant value to our compliance function and enable us to deliver faster and better service to our customers."

Martin Markiewicz, Chief Executive Officer at Silent Eight, said: “We are honored to work with Emirates NBD, one of the most progressive and forward-thinking banks in the MENAT region.”

Ben Rayner, Senior Vice President at Silent Eight, said: " We are delighted to be working with Emirates NBD, and are impressed by their dedication to excellence and innovation in compliance and their willingness to embrace AI as a strategic enabler. We look forward to supporting them in their journey of transforming their alert screening process and achieving their compliance goals."

The collaboration between Emirates NBD and Silent Eight solidifies Emirates NBD’s commitment to safe banking through innovative and transformative advancements within the financial industry. In 2023, Emirates NBD leveraged the power of generative AI to drive significant advancements in software development, collaboration, and customer engagement.

As fraudsters increasingly exploit technology to try to thwart banks and their customers, Mastercard is adopting generative AI techniques to enhance the protections that keep consumers – and the entire payments network – safe.

Mastercard’s world-leading Decision Intelligence (DI) - a real-time decisioning solution - already helps banks score and safely approve 143 billion transactions a year. New generative AI technology will scan an unprecedented one trillion data points to predict whether a transaction is likely to be genuine or not, building Mastercard’s existing ability to analyze account, purchase, merchant, and device information in real-time.

The next-generation technology, Decision Intelligence Pro, works by assessing the relationships between multiple entities surrounding a transaction to determine its risk. In less than 50 milliseconds, this technology improves the overall DI score, sharpening the data provided to banks. Initial modeling shows  AI enhancements boost fraud detection rates on average by 20% and as high as 300% in some instances.

“With generative AI we are transforming the speed and accuracy of our anti-fraud solutions, deflecting the efforts of criminals, and protecting banks and their customers. Supercharging our algorithm will improve our ability to anticipate the next potential fraudulent event, instilling trust into every interaction,” said Ajay Bhalla, president of Cyber and Intelligence at Mastercard.

The enhancement of DI will further improve banks’ abilities to protect cardholders from fraudulent transactions and mitigate what are known as known as false positives: legitimate transactions that are incorrectly flagged as fraudulent ones.

“The precision of the solution – achieved by scanning potential points of sale in real time - has been shown in our own analysis to not only increase accuracy, but also reduce the number of false positives by more than 85%,” said Bhalla.

DI Pro will be available from later this year.

Abrigo, a leading provider of financial crime prevention and risk management solutions for U.S. financial institutions, today announced the launch of Abrigo Fraud Detection, a new platform that combines AI-powered inspection and check image analysis with a smart, configurable fraud decision engine. Abrigo’s innovative hybrid approach protects banks and credit unions from crippling financial losses by increasing the accuracy of fraud detection, uncovering threats missed by traditional tools and manual reviews, and automating fraud department workflows.

In a pilot program with a Southeastern U.S. bank, Abrigo Fraud Detection correctly identified 93% of the bank’s total fraudulent check value, equating to more than $330,000 in potential fraud loss avoidance.

“Banks and credit unions of every size need transformational tools to fight financial crime amid radically powerful, pervasive, and diverse new threats,” said Jay Blandford, CEO of Abrigo. “Abrigo Fraud Detection offers our 2,400 existing customers, and new customers, enhanced fraud detection accuracy and efficiency. Our mission is to help financial institutions and their communities thrive, and our new platform does that by detecting sophisticated fraud patterns fast and combating financial crimes that cost millions and impact reputation.”

With check fraud soaring, banks need intelligent tech

Despite the increasing popularity of digital payment channels, checks are still the most common form of B2B payment — with 81% of businesses still paying other firms with paper checks. At the same time, check fraud is increasing dramatically. According to fraud strategists, check fraud is projected to soar to $24 billion in 2024. And FinCEN reported that Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) filings for check fraud in 2022 exceeded 680,000, nearly doubling the number of filings the previous year.

“The battle against check fraud is a race against evolving criminal tactics,” said Datos Insights strategic advisor Becki LaPorte. “Fraudsters use this to their advantage and wield sophisticated tools. It is imperative for community financial institutions to adopt innovative technology solutions that protect customer funds without impacting the customer experience.”

Enhanced check fraud detection through Abrigo-Mitek strategic partnership

In November 2023, Abrigo announced a strategic partnership with Mitek, a global leader in mobile deposit and fraud prevention. Abrigo Fraud Detection leverages Mitek’s Check Fraud Defender, a nationwide consortium of check fraud data, powerful AI and ML image analysis, and Abrigo’s configurable fraud decision engine — including step-up authentication capabilities to pinpoint a higher rate of altered items, forgeries, and fraudulent checks. Tailored to each institution’s needs, the Abrigo platform automates processes and streamlines workflows to increase efficiency and prioritize higher-risk activities.

“Our approach blends AI and rules-based detection, ensuring our customers are equipped with transparency and a robust and adaptable fraud prevention system, safeguarding their assets and maintaining customer trust in an increasingly digital world,” said Abrigo CTO Ravi Nemalikanti. “Abrigo Fraud Detection stands out by offering a highly configurable yet user-friendly interface, allowing financial institutions to tailor fraud detection to their specific needs.”

Learn more about Abrigo Fraud Detection

Abrigo Fraud Detection has launched today with check fraud detection, and capabilities will expand to detect fraud across additional transaction types, including wire and FedNow, throughout 2024.

Repay Holdings Corporation a leading provider of vertically-integrated payment solutions, today announced a new technology integration with Lexop, a self-service software for credit unions, financial institutions, and other financing companies that optimizes the repayment journey for past-due consumers. The REPAY integration with the Lexop collections management software enables their clients to collect late payments more efficiently, receive real-time payment updates, increase engagement, and minimize loan servicing costs.

Lexop clients can now offer members an integrated self-service portal, empowered by REPAY’s embedded payments technology, to make payments more easily at members’ convenience. Additionally, credit unions and financial institutions can accept debit cards, as well as automated clearing house (ACH), payments via text, mobile, and IVR. REPAY’s embedded payments engine seamlessly sends payment data back to Lexop in real-time, streamlining reconciliation and accounting operations.

“Collecting late payments can be a stressful and challenging operation for both credit unions and their members, especially when members cannot make payments though their preferred channel,” said Jake Moore, EVP, Consumer Payments, REPAY. “REPAY’s integration with Lexop helps to alleviate that burden by offering multiple payment options, making remittance convenient for members and payment updates instantaneous for their financial institutions.”

“Lexop is proud to empower credit unions with flexible payment options and further improve the efficiency of accounting functions through our integration with REPAY,” said Amir Tajkarimi, CEO and Co-Founder of Lexop. “We prioritize credit union members’ well-being during the collection process and are confident that the new capabilities enabled by REPAY will enhance our customers’ ability to build strong connections with their members through convenient payment methods.”

Wirex, a leading Web3 money app, is excited to introduce exclusive early access to WPay, a decentralized payment network, utilizing the capabilities of the award-winning Wirex platform.

WPay solves problems related to intermediaries, custody risks, and slow, expensive settlements. With WPay, users can enjoy a smoother and more secure payment experience, marking a significant advancement in simplifying financial interactions.

Targeting decentralized applications, non-custodial wallets, and DAOs, WPay provides a transformative solution in the digital finance landscape.

Key value propositions of WPay:

• Self-Custody: Gain direct control over assets with the WPay Card, mitigating counterparty risk.
• Digital Asset Flexibility: Easily manage digital assets, lending, and borrowing.
• Uncompromised Security: Enjoy the highest security standards for peace of mind.
• Instant Spending: Utilise crypto as simply as cash, accepted by over 50 million merchants in more than 200 countries.

With the WPay self-custodial debit card, users can spend their digital assets in the traditional economy through the WPay network. Accepted by over 50 million merchants in more than 200 countries, the card enables users to have direct control over their assets, ensuring no counterparty risk.

Pavel Matveev, CEO and Co-founder of Wirex, comments, "WPay revolutionises digital asset use in daily life, seamlessly merging them with traditional transactions. Bridging the gap between digital assets and everyday transactions has been challenging. WPay represents a significant advancement, allowing individuals to use digital assets for everyday purchases and services. This ushers in a new era of practical cryptocurrency use beyond mere investment."

How it works:

• Sign Up and Set Up

Register with WPay and set up your unique Spending Account Abstraction (AA), integrating it with your Externally Owned Account (EOA) wallet. 

• Gain Full Control

​Enjoy complete self-custody of your funds, ensuring security and freedom from third-party custody. 

• Customise and Secure

Personalise your spending limits and preferences. Transactions are authorized based on your balance and limits, prioritizing security. 

• Seamless Financial Operations

Experience efficient transaction settlement in fiat currency with card schemes, streamlined for smooth financial management 

CorServ, a company that empowers banks and fintechs with payment programs, has partnered with First Bank to implement its modern credit card program. This program enables First Bank to provide credit card solutions to their consumer, business, and commercial customers.

First Bank, a $6.6 billion full-service bank, is known for its 100-year history of family ownership, serving communities in Missouri, California, and Illinois. With their personalized service and commitment to excellence, First Bank replaced its Agent Bank program with the flexibility and control that CorServ’s Account Issuer program has to offer.

“Our community is always our priority, and by enhancing our credit card offerings, we are in turn better serving the unique needs of families and businesses,” said Erin Erhart, Director of Product of First Bank. “CorServ’s account issuer program gives us the ability to own the credit card profits and losses and participate in the credit decisions for our customers since we know them best.”

With extensive business and consumer capabilities, the Account Issuer Program offers credit card products with a variety of APRs, rewards, and features. CorServ’s business administrative interface will now allow First Bank’s commercial and business customers to have increased controls that aid in issuing new cards, setting spending controls, and paying vendors with virtual cards faster.

“CorServ’s program minimizes the disruption, cost and resources needed for typical card programs, giving First Bank competitive products for all their customers,” said Anil Goyal, CEO of CorServ. “We are thrilled to be a part of First Bank's vision to help family-owned businesses, their families and employees thrive through generations with innovative features of our credit card issuing program.”

Small business owners are optimistic about the future, with 88% indicating the financial state of their businesses is about the same or better off than a year ago, which should bode well for merchant services providers. According to the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Merchant Services Satisfaction Study, SM released today, small business financial optimism is correlated with increased sales processed by merchant services providers. There are 94% of merchants now accept debit or credit cards; 88% accept digital wallets; and 54% accept Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) payment methods. However, when it comes to small business satisfaction with those services, scores are lowest among merchants for processing widely accepted payment types such as credit and debit card transactions and are highest for processing less widely accepted payment types like BNPL.

“We’re seeing an interesting disconnect in the merchant services marketplace whereby the most frequently processed forms of payment—credit and debit cards—generate the lowest levels of overall satisfaction among small business owners, while less common payment types such as BNPL, pay by bank and gift cards drive higher satisfaction,” said John Cabell, managing director of payments intelligence at J.D. Power. “Part of that is driven by demographics. Younger, newer business owners are more apt to accept a wide variety of payment types and have higher overall satisfaction with their merchant service providers. However, we’re also seeing some challenges across the board with debit and credit when it comes to delays in account funding, cost and fees, and fraud management.”

The following are key findings of the 2024 study:

• Credit and debit reign supreme on usage, but fail to deliver on satisfaction: Overall, 94% of small businesses accept debit or credit card payments. Most merchants have their credit card (81%) and debit card (80%) payments processed by their provider. Despite being the most processed forms of payment, overall merchant services satisfaction scores are lowest across all aspects of the customer experience among small businesses that have credit cards (692 on a 1,000-point scale) and debit cards (694) processed by their provider.
• Satisfaction is highest among businesses where BNPL is processed: Slightly more than half (54%) of small businesses accept BNPL and just 27% of merchants report processing BNPL with a profiled brand; satisfaction scores are highest (744) among small businesses that do have this payment type processed. Overall merchant services satisfaction rises as businesses process more payment options, reaching a high score of 793 among the 4% of businesses that cite six different payment types processed.
• Gap emerges between small business innovators and traditionalists: Two distinct categories of small business owners have begun to emerge in the study dataset: innovators, who represent 47% of the study population and are younger, newer business owners who are more likely to accept a wide variety of payment types, and traditionalists, who represent 53% of the study population and are older and prefer cash, checks and in-person purchases. Overall merchant services provider satisfaction is significantly higher among innovators.
• Cost, fraud risk, and complexity emerge as top obstacles: Among small business owners who are unwilling to accept credit and debit cards, higher cost of acceptance and higher risk of fraud/theft are top reasons. Among those who are unwilling to accept BNPL, digital wallet, or pay-by-bank payments, the primary reasons are difficulty of use/complicated process and too much effort versus other priorities.

Study Ranking

Shopify ranks highest in merchant service satisfaction, with a score of 728. Paysafe (725) ranks second and Bank of America (713) ranks third.

The U.S. Merchant Services Satisfaction Study was redesigned in 2024. It is based on responses from 5,383 small business customers of merchant services providers and measures satisfaction across six factors (in alphabetical order): advice and guidance on running your business; cost of processing payments; data security and protection; managing my account; payment processing; and quality of technology. The study was fielded from September through November 2023.

The brands evaluated are the U.S. merchant services providers with the largest market share. Overall satisfaction results reflect overall corporate results, meaning they can include the results of various sub-brands or alternate brand names that operate under the respective corporate brand names. In some cases, brands profiled also currently have or recently have had joint partnerships to provide merchant services to small business clients. 

Profile, a leading international financial solutions provider, with 25 years’ experience in shareholder management, announces the launch of RegiStar, a brand-new solution, which is based on a modular platform, and is considered a top choice for large multi-shareholder private companies with nominal shares.

RegiStar is an integrated solution for complete monitoring and management of shareholder registry. All companies having issued nominal shares can now enhance their investor relations services with a robust, and top-notch technological platform. The system provides a user-friendly interface, fast data management, a plethora of tools and it is easy to adjust and customise according to any company’s requirements.

RegiStar has been developed, utilising all the recent technologies and best practices to provide modern tools to IR managers. Amongst other things, the solution is cloud-enabled, supporting all languages (multi-language), whilst making full use of the Windows rights system (LDAP). Moreover, it integrates automation systems (e.g. automatic loading of transaction files) and machine learning, offering ergonomics in use, speed at work and quality in the information generated. The solution is enriched with a support system for General Meetings and corporate actions and a valuation system (in monetary units) for the transactions both at shareholder level and at dynamic shareholder groups collectively.

The solution can be accessed from any browser (Chrome, Edge, Opera, Safari) and can be hosted at any cloud provider including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and/or on-premises. The platform supports SMTP to inform users directly of several functions or actions occurred in the system through email. Moreover, it auto-saves user preferences and offers dynamic Reporting through AI and Alerting based on specific parameters, such as the reception of a message regarding transactions for specific shareholders or shareholders who exceeded a percentage on shares or reduced it below a specific percentage.

The most important benefits derived from the use of the platform include flexibility and scalability to accommodate future requirements as well as a secure and reliable performance. The embedded modern design significantly enhances the user experience. The platform also offers 24/7 accessibility, whilst its highly modular component-based architecture enables the adoption of a tailor-made solution to fit the specific needs of each company.

RegiStar is becoming the ideal choice for shareholder registry, offering a unique experience and setting a milestone in the world of investor relations.

The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has granted a licence to Xace,  a leader in iGaming financial solutions, paving the way for transformative payment services across  Europe. 

Xace, a pioneering payment provider focused on the iGaming industry, has achieved another success with the recent approval of a licence from the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). This development is poised to accelerate the company's growth in the European Union, further enhancing its reputation as a key player in the iGaming market. 

Since its inception, Xace has been dedicated to simplifying financial transactions for gaming businesses. With this new licence, Xace reaffirms its commitment to meeting the specialised payment needs of the iGaming sector, which frequently encounters hurdles with conventional financial institutions. This licence not only signifies a new era for Xace but also for the European iGaming industry, offering access to a stable business account and payment solution. 

David Hodkinson, Group CEO of Xace, expressed his enthusiasm: “Our mission has always been clear  - to offer an effective alternative to traditional banking for the iGaming sector. With the MFSA  licence, we're now uniquely positioned to enhance our offering of reliable, cutting-edge payment  solutions to Maltese and European gaming firms alike.” 

Roderick Psaila, Chairman of Xace Europe, who played a key role in securing the licence, added:  “Achieving this licence is a milestone for us. The iGaming industry desperately needs a stable, secure and reputable financial provider, so we are thankful to the MFSA for their diligent and efficient contribution during the whole application process. They have proven to be a robust regulator with  approachable guidance throughout, meaning Xace Europe’s new home is set to fill a prominent role  across the EU - without hindrance.” 

Nuvei Corporation, the Canadian fintech company, announces today that it has partnered with Cash App, a fast and simple payment method that enables U.S. customers to make online payments either by scanning a simple QR code or by tapping Cash App Pay during the checkout process. Partners in the U.S. can seamlessly add Cash App Pay to their online checkout through their existing integration with Nuvei.

Cash App Pay's simple, intuitive payment experience encourages customers to return to repeat shop, as well as appeals to younger consumers by providing them with a convenient way to pay using their Cash App balance or linked debit card. In addition to winning new customers, diversifying away from a reliance on card payments also boosts overall payment acceptance rates and optimizes costs, boosting revenue acceleration further.

Philip Fayer, Nuvei Chair and CEO, commented on the announcement: "Cash App Pay is being rapidly adopted as a payment method in the U.S., especially with younger consumer demographics. Our mission is to support our partners to engage with their customers, wherever they are and however they want to pay. This partnership enables businesses to integrate Cash App Pay into their online payments experience effortlessly, attracting new customers and accelerating revenue growth in the process."

This announcement is the latest from Nuvei as it continues to build out its industry-leading portfolio of alternative payment methods (APMs) for its partners to access through a single integration. Nuvei's agile, customizable platform enables businesses to effortlessly tailor their online checkouts with all the relevant APMs in each market they operate.