Canadian Imperial bank of Commerce is introducing Prism fraud detection technology from ACI Worldwide in a bid to crack down on a rising incidence of debit card payment crime.
Jude Pinto, vice-president and chief administrative officer, direct to consumer group, CIBC, says: "While the incidence of debit card-based fraud at CIBC is still very small compared to overall transaction volumes, it has affected many of our customers."
The Prism system proactively monitors cash machine (ABM) and point-of sale (POS) debit card transactions to detect suspicious activity. At CIBC it is integrated with ACI's Base24 authorisation software, monitoring debit card-based transactions in near real-time as they are processed for approval.
Debit card payments recently surpassed cash as Canadians' favorite way to pay for purchases. Says Pinto: "Ninety per cent of adult Canadians have a banking card, and the number of ABM and Interac Direct Payment transactions surpassed 3.5 billion in 2000."
Prism uses neural network technology to identify unusual behavior by comparing individual card usage with known patterns of fraud. Suspicious activity is automatically queued for review by CIBC's analysts who may contact customers to verify deposits, withdrawals or banking card requests.
Pinto believes the initiative will help reassure the growing number of bank customers relying on e-payment transactions. "The customers we have contacted in our investigations are highly appreciative of the proactive measures we have taken," he says.