Here’s how UAE banks can protect real-time payments from fraud

How do you see the growth of the payments industry in the Middle East, specifically the UAE?
The payments industry has seen an explosion of new technologies over the last decade, resulting in faster and more efficient operations for consumers and organisations. The industry has now evolved into real-time payment systems. ACI Worldwide started investing in real-time payment products over a decade ago. 10 years later, those products are implemented in 20 countries worldwide. We expect to be working in the UAE at the end of the year, when the Instant Payment Platform (IPP) service goes live.

What does the real-time payments scheme mean for the UAE banks?
The UAE Central Bank is expected to unveil the technical details of the new venture in the coming days. The real-time payments programme is part of the central bank’s objective to improve the country’s payments infrastructure as quickly as possible.

IPP will enable open banking, which implies that anybody in the UAE who wants to establish a new application and transfer money will have to give their bank account information to any payer in the system. The real-time IPP will then allow them to transfer and receive payments by sending that message. Now that banks will lose their monopoly on payments, transactions have become more democratic, allowing anyone to participate in the payment process. The IPP will enable real-time payments between bank accounts and all financial institutions in the UAE. The framework integrates new quick payment rails with core payments, request to pay, and social media payments.

How are you helping the banks connect to the UAE’s central real-time payments infrastructure?
ACI’s solution enables global real-time payment schemes by connecting and processing payment data. The solutions we offer are available as licensed or SaaS solutions – or as hybrid options – depending on the needs of our customers. Licensing allows customers to manage our software on their premises, in a private or public cloud. Alternatively, customers can opt for our SaaS model, in which we manage their solution in either our data centres or the public cloud.

With the increase in cyber threats, how can banks protect real-time payments from fraud?
Real-time payments equal real-time fraud. While the window to stop fraud shrinks, it becomes a more significant challenge. The banks will place fraud prevention tax tactics, and we can help them do that. Our software provides predictive analytics by behavioural biometrics, machine learning and expert rules for fraud management. ACI Fraud Management enables banks, acquirers, processors, and networks to convert fraud protection into a competitive differentiator with a safe and frictionless solution that surpasses consumer expectations and meets escalating regulatory needs.

What are your plans for the year ahead?
With IPP going live at the end of 2022, we look forward to working with UAE-based banks and all participants in the ecosystem across the nation. We hope our software launches along with the banks while the IPP scheme is launched. We also look at expanding and investing in the Middle East.