Advanced Fraud Solutions Debuts Tool To Fight Vendor Fraud

Advanced Fraud Solutions (AFS), which works in deposit fraud detection software, has rolled out AFS Positive Pay, which will help financial institutions (FIs) and enterprise customers look at changes in payments information to prevent fraud, according to a press release.

AFS Positive Pay will allow FIs and businesses to monitor payments and receive immediate notices when payment information from vendors, including routing numbers, account information or amounts, doesn’t correctly correspond, the release stated.

The FI works as a hub to collect data, with business accounts also able to contribute, according to the release. When the payments come in at various times, AFS Positive Pay will allow the companies to track payment disbursements and updates. When an FI receives a check or ACH, AFS Positive Pay will process and query the item against source data.

If payment information is different from what was sent from the business, AFS Positive Pay will alert the FI in real time and before the payment goes through, the release stated.

“Small- to medium-sized businesses [SMBs] have a lot of payment relationships to maintain — it’s why they are so often targeted by fraud operators,” said AFS President and CEO Lawrence Reaves. “For a business to keep up with the exhaustive details related to vendor, landlord, staff and other payments, requires constant attention. AFS Positive Pay protects and streamlines these day-to-day transactions by creating a contribution and alert system, so that suspicious activity — like a fraudulent actor trying to misdirect funds — is flagged before a payment is disbursed.”

In related news, OnPay Solutions President and CEO Neal Anderson told PYMNTS last year that employees working from home could lead to more of an open door for fraud. He said eliminating paper checks would go a long way toward boosting protection from B2B fraud, although the lack of authentication available in person would make it less seamless.