Visa has expanded its anti-fraud capabilities for account-to-account transfers with a new solution called A2A Protect, which combines artificial intelligence and Featurespace technology to supply banks with real-time risk data. The system is designed to detect and block suspected abuse before transactions are settled and funds move.
Context and scale
According to the company, various types of financial fraud cost retail and corporate customers across Europe about €2.5 billion in 2024. In that environment, banks increasingly need the ability to intervene prior to transaction completion.
How A2A Protect works
- The solution leverages AI and Featurespace behavioural analytics together with network-level data sharing to give banks immediate access to global risk signals.
- It evaluates transaction risk in real time so suspicious transfers can be stopped before funds are sent.
- The software integrates via API with existing banking systems, simplifying and accelerating deployment.
Effectiveness and case study
Visa cites a case study with a large European bank showing that use of the solution increased prevented fraud rates by more than 50% while reducing unnecessary alerts by 40%. In the first six months after deployment, the software reportedly improved fraud detection rates by 75%.
Benefits for banks
- Faster protection: banks do not have to wait months to train their own models; protection is effective from day one of deployment.
- Network effects: by sharing data at network level, the system can spot new fraud hotspots and coordinated attacks that individual institutions might struggle to detect alone.
- Integration: API connectivity eases integration with banks’ existing infrastructure.
Conclusion
Visa’s A2A Protect aims to provide an immediately deployable, AI-driven layer of defence for account-to-account transfers, backed by networked risk data. Early results cited by Visa and the referenced case study indicate substantial improvements in preventing fraud and reducing false positives for participating banks.
