Two firms will pilot CBA's NameCheck technology
Commonwealth Bank has announced that both Bendigo Bank and fraud monitoring company Satori will pilot CBA’s NameCheck technology in a proactive move to enhance cybersecurity.
Designed to combat scams and prevent mistaken payments, NameCheck employs advanced technology and leverages CBA’s available payment data to assess the accuracy of provided account details.
Since its launch in March, the technology has successfully thwarted more than 10,000 scam payments, saving an estimated $38 million, and significantly reducing mistaken payments by more than $100m.
Industry collaboration and integration efforts
Bendigo Bank plans to incorporate NameCheck into its Up app early next year; and Satori, which monitors financial controls for Australian brands and many industry and government organisations, is also set to incorporate the solution.
Mike Vacy-Lyle (pictured above left), CBA group executive business banking, is pleased to collaborate with Bendigo Bank and Satori, both of which “play an incredibly important role in the payments ecosystem.”
“With scams and fraud costing Australians and businesses billions of dollars annually, it’s clear a whole-of-ecosystem response is needed to combat this problem,” Vacy-Lyle said in a media release. “We are proud to be able to extend our industry-leading technology to others and contribute to protecting more Australians against cyber criminals.”
NameCheck can be seamlessly integrated into an institution’s mobile or online interface, backend operations software, or existing scam prevention capabilities with ease.
Ryan Brosnahan (pictured above centre), Bendigo Bank’s chief transformation officer, acknowledged the potential of NameCheck to bolster customer confidence when transacting online and reduce instances of scams and mistaken payments.
“Cyber fraud is a complex, evolving, and ongoing challenge that the industry, government, regulators, law enforcement, telcos, and internet platforms must work together to combat,” Brosnahan said.
Up CEO Xavier Shay (pictured above right) added that the pilot program, using presently available technology, serves as an illustration of the industry's collaborative efforts to combat scammers.
“By working together and considering new ways of tackling common problems, we can be more effective as an industry,” Shay said.
Mark Bookatz, Satori’s executive director for growth, underscored the importance of NameCheck as an essential service for corporate customers complementing existing AI-driven financial controls to enhance operational efficiency and prevent fraud.
“Australian institutions have recognised the high costs stemming from errors, non-compliance, and fraud in their financial processes,” Bookatz said.
CBA’s progressive approach and industry preparedness
CBA is progressively rolling out its NameCheck technology to business customers, covering nearly all payments processed through CommBiz.
Recent CBA research showed that 20% of Australian businesses are yet to address the rising threat of scams, leaving up to 500,000 businesses without a plan.
Among those who have taken or planned to take action, the most prevalent measures included more frequent and thorough checks of bank accounts/statements and invoices (46%), software updates/upgrades (40%), collaboration with third-party suppliers (29%), and the provision of additional training for staff (25%).
“With scammers attempting to cause harm to hard-working Australian businesses every day, the fact that this research shows eight in 10 Australian businesses are taking action is no doubt a positive,” Vacy-Lyle said.
Nevertheless, this leaves 20% of businesses vulnerable. CBA aims to ensure that all Australian businesses are well-prepared to confront the menace of scams.
“Scammers often rely on people within a business being tricked into transferring money to accounts they shouldn’t,” Vacy-Lyle said. “To protect your business from scams, remember three simple steps: Stop. Check. Reject.”
These new partnerships follow CBA’s recent collaboration with Telstra to launch the Scam Indicator pilot, providing an additional layer of protection against phone scams targeting joint CBA and Telstra customers.
Get the hottest and freshest mortgage news delivered right into your inbox. Subscribe now to our FREE daily newsletter.
