Visa Introduces AI Solutions to Combat Digital Fraud

Visa announced the addition of three new artificial intelligence (AI) fraud prevention tools to its portfolio of products for business customers, reaffirming its position as an innovation and security leader in the market. These additions to the Visa Protect suite are designed to enhance the security of immediate account-to-account and card-not-present payments, extending beyond Visa's own network. 

"Generative AI (GenAI) has become a crucial ally in automating and strengthening security checks, and Visa is determined to stay at the forefront of this trend to remain competitive in the global payments market," said Walter Lironi, Senior VP, Visa. "These new solutions are designed to address the evolving challenges of modern commerce, where flexibility, speed and security are crucial."

The implementation of AI-powered solutions, according to Antony Cahill, Director of Value-Added Services, Visa, is part of a strategic move to address the evolving challenges of modern commerce. In the last year alone, Visa was able to block approximately US$40 billion in fraudulent activity, nearly double the amount from 2022, a testament to the effectiveness of AI in fraud detection and prevention. Furthermore, in its steadfast commitment to innovation and security, Visa has allocated an additional investment of US$10 billion in technology and innovation over the next five years. This investment will be directed towards fortifying Visa’s offerings in acceptance, advice, issuance, open banking, and protection.

The new tools, scheduled to be launched before the end of the first half of 2024, will extend Visa's AI technology portfolio to detect and block fraud in non-credit card digital transactions. In addition, they will be deployed in real-time account-to-account payments, covering a broader spectrum of transaction scenarios. Visa also plans to extend its existing products, such as Visa Advanced Authorization and Visa Risk Manager, for non-Visa card payments with the intention of addressing the evolving needs of its merchant partners.

This strategy comes at a time when competition in the digital payments space is on the rise. Companies like Mastercard, which offers AI-powered risk detection tools, and PayPal, which recently announced that its Venmo product will utilize AI to deliver a more personalized online shopping experience to consumers, are similarly adopting solutions rooted in this technology to mitigate fraud and enhance transaction security.

Likewise, instances of fraud have witnessed a notable surge, according to the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services (CONDUSEF), which reported a 27.5% increase in claims related to "possible fraud" during 2023. Furthermore, the agency disclosed that approximately US$820 thousand is lost daily in Mexico due to digital fraud, underscoring the escalating urgency to fortify these platforms.