New Zealand’s retail banks have implemented new fraud intelligence technology designed to identify and disrupt scam activity more quickly, ahead of the introduction of five new scam prevention commitments under the Code of Banking Practice on 30th November.
The announcement coincides with the start of Fraud Awareness Week and marks another step in the industry’s wider prevention-focused approach.
Scammers frequently rely on ‘mule’ accounts to move stolen funds, often sending money overseas where recovery becomes almost impossible.
The new technology enables participating banks to identify suspicious accounts more rapidly, share intelligence, and freeze funds before they are transferred.
Early results show thousands of intelligence-sharing cases have already helped recover or prevent the loss of millions of dollars.
The system also supports real-time responses to emerging scam activity by enabling banks to warn customers about high-risk accounts before payments are made. It includes enhanced data reporting, allowing banks to analyse scam trends and strengthen proactive prevention measures.
New Zealand Banking Association chief executive Roger Beaumont said the development reflects a major step forward in meeting the sector’s new commitments.
“The fraud intelligence technology is another milestone for our banks in meeting their new scam prevention commitments that come into force at the end of the month.
“We have a prevention-led strategy to fighting scams, which aligns with global best practice,” he said. Beaumont noted that information-sharing was already taking place, but the new system dramatically improves speed.
“Banks were already sharing information with each other about mule accounts, but this new technology makes the process much faster. And speed is key when it comes to stopping scammers, who tend to move quickly.”
He said the new technology sits alongside Confirmation of Payee, launched in April, which allows customers to check that an account name matches the number they are paying.
“There is no single initiative to stop scams, which is why we are bringing in a range of things to help stop people authorising payments to criminals,” Beaumont added.
He emphasised that banks invest millions each year in scam prevention, but that wider action is required from the industries where scams originate, including social media firms, global tech platforms and telcos. Consumer vigilance remains important.
The new fraud intelligence system has been built by GetVerified, the bank-owned company responsible for delivering cross-industry scam prevention solutions. GetVerified also developed the Confirmation of Payee service.