NCR Corporation and Advanced Software Design (ASD) Corporation, a Canada-based company that specializes in electronic check fraud-prevention solutions, have joined forces to advance the financial industry's adoption of image-based fraud capabilities.
By working together, both companies are initiating the movement of fraud detection and risk review to occur earlier in the processing cycle, during prime-pass processing, which occurs before posting, and then moving it out to the point of presentment.
"According to the 2004 American Banking Association Deposit Account Fraud Survey Report, over $670 million dollars in reported fraud losses are absorbed directly by banks every year. Banks are recognizing the significant value image-based fraud-detection capabilities can have in addressing this problem," said Ian Goodall, director of truncation strategies for NCR's Payment and Imaging solutions group. "Enabling banks to catch fraudulent items prior to posting or exchange reduces risk exposure and allows for better controls on funds availability. The industry's movement toward electronic check clearing generates the opportunity to increase the velocity of fraud detection and support decisioning earlier in the clearing cycle."
NCR and ASD have been working with specific banks to define an approach for integrating ASD's patented SAND technology into NCR's ImageMark Transaction Manager system for prime-pass processing, allowing for the detection of counterfeit and altered items.
"Banks are very interested in transitioning from paper to electronic image exchange with minimal risk to themselves and their customers. Our relationship enables NCR's customers to gain immediate access and benefit from ASD's SAND technology, which offers advanced image-survivable security features verifiable at any point of capture," said Calin Sandru, president of ASD.
Charles Dail, senior vice president at First Citizens Bank, said, "As the banking industry moves toward full electronic check clearing, detecting check fraud as early as possible in the payment cycle is imperative. With 100 percent of our prime-pass volume processed through ImageMark, the vision NCR and ASD have developed will help us deliver better and safer service to our customers."
Both NCR and ASD believe that in the near future the industry will move towards an environment that supports inter-bank fraud verification at the point capture. A collecting bank could share data and images with the paying bank, allowing fraud review and decision-making to happen in real time.