Swift to roll out AI-powered cross-border fraud detection service

By Gloria Methri

In a bid to bolster security in the global payments industry, Swift has announced the rollout of advanced AI-enhanced fraud detection technology, responding to cybercriminals’ growing sophistication. Available from January 2025, the service is the result of extensive collaboration with banks from around the world and a successful pilot earlier this year.

The new capability enhances Swift’s existing Payment Controls Service by utilising pseudonymized data from billions of transactions on the Swift network. This allows it to identify and flag suspicious activities, enabling real-time action.

The rollout is part of Swift’s broader collaboration with its global community of more than 11,500 banks and financial institutions to test how AI can solve cross-industry challenges. With global industry estimates putting the total cost of fraud in financial services at $485 billion in 2023 alone, Swift is focused on using AI to give financial institutions stronger and more accurate insights into instances of potentially fraudulent activity.

Jerome Piens, Chief Product Officer at Swift, said, “Bad actors are using increasingly sophisticated tactics to commit financial crime, and the global financial industry needs to raise its defences higher to ensure their customers can continue to transact globally with confidence. Swift has a long track record of supporting our community by staying one step ahead to maintain the security and resilience that our network is known for – and now we’re doing so again by harnessing the latest technology.”

Since February, Swift has been working with leading financial institutions to explore how federated learning, combined with privacy-enhancing technologies, could enable market participants to share information without revealing their proprietary data. The group has developed several fraud detection use cases that are set to be tested in a sandbox environment.

The rollout of this enhanced service is a key milestone in Swift’s strategic vision to make end-to-end international transactions instant and frictionless while maintaining trust, security and compliance.

“Collaboration across the banking sector is crucial to enhancing fraud detection, and by sharing data and leveraging AI, we empower ourselves to stay ahead. At BNP Paribas, we are fully committed to supporting Swift’s innovative initiative in that regard, as it marks a key step forward in protecting the integrity of our financial ecosystem,” said Olivier Nautet, Head of Cybersecurity, BNP Paribas.

“Standard Bank Group, Africa’s biggest bank by assets, has participated in Swift’s initiative for AI fraud detection capability to enhance the security of its customers’ transactions. The technology will identify suspicious patterns in real-time, reducing fraud risk and ensuring a safer banking experience for clients. By leveraging the power of AI, Standard Bank Group reaffirms its commitment to innovation and safeguarding the financial assets of its clients – who are our main asset,” said John McHugh, Head Operations Control – CIB at Standard Bank.