Bank of America Debuts Account Validation for Corporate and Public-Sector Clients

Bank of America on Thursday (Oct. 28) launched the Account Validation fraud prevention service to help corporate and public sector clients make electronic credit or debit payments.

Account Validation users can verify the status of their accounts and authenticate the account owner(s). The offering is supported by FinTech Early Warning Services, LLC (EWS), which offers identity, risk and payment solutions through seven U.S. financial institutions (FIs), including Bank of America.

“With fraud on the rise, companies can no longer make assumptions about whether the person or entity on the other end of a payment is who they say they are,” said David Kretz, head of global payments at Bank of America, in the company announcement. “Account Validation and other fraud prevention tools are essential for today’s treasury teams.”

Account Validation stands out from other fraud prevention tools with its ability to respond to client inquiries almost in real time, the BoA announcement says. Companies can use Account Validation before making payments to consumers through ACH, wire transfer or real-time payments. The service also helps to prevent misdirected payments to incorrect account numbers.

“Account Validation can help companies prevent fraudulent payments without compromising on speed for valid payments to vendors and contractors,” said Stephanie Wolf, head of financial institutions sales and head of business banking sales in global transaction services at Bank of America, in the company announcement. “By reducing misdirected payments, companies will also save a considerable amount of time and money it takes to attempt to retrieve misdirected payments.”

Related news: Fraudsters Launching Fewer Attacks, But Aim at Bigger Targets

As global eCommerce continues to grow (up an estimated 15% from one year ago), fraudsters now seek bigger targets but strike less often, although they’ve become increasingly sophisticated in targeting digital channels.

According to ACI, mobile data fraud increased by 1.22%, while theft among buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS) purchases jumped more than 6% in the first quarter of 2021. The average transaction value of attempted fraud increased by 4.7%, while overall occurrences dropped 3.2%.