ACI Worldwide Launches Network to Combat APP Scams

Real-time payments (RTPs) have transformed commerce by enabling instant transfers, but their speed has also fueled a surge in authorized push payment (APP) scams. In these schemes, victims are deceived into willingly transferring funds to fraudsters impersonating banks, government agencies, or service providers. Once sent, these payments are difficult to reverse, leaving consumers vulnerable.

ACI Worldwide, a pioneer in global payments technology, is addressing this threat through its Signals network intelligence platform. Developed over seven years, Signals is now being positioned for open-source adoption by banks and financial institutions worldwide. By embedding intelligence directly into RTP messages, the system helps identify suspicious behaviors in real time and enables collaboration across financial networks.

An ACI report highlights the urgency: APP scams via RTPs are projected to rise from 63% of fraud losses in 2023–2024 to 80% by 2028. Multifactor authentication has curbed some fraud, but it remains ineffective against scams authorized by legitimate account holders. Regulators are now pushing banks to adopt advanced monitoring and take more responsibility for scam-related losses.

Signals builds on decades of innovation. ACI’s early work in AI-driven transactional monitoring dates back to partnerships with Nobel laureate Dr. Leon Cooper and his Nestor team in the early 2000s. Their neural networks, later patented by ACI, evolved into today’s sophisticated fraud detection engines.

Today, ACI secures payments for the world’s top 10 banks, 80,000 merchants, and processes 225 billion transactions annually. In India, it holds nearly 80% market share in fraud detection across major public and private banks.

By combining AI, behavioral analysis, and global collaboration, ACI’s Signals platform represents a critical step toward combating APP scams and safeguarding the next era of real-time payments.