Citi Launches Outlier Payment Detection For Treasurers

Citi Launches Payment Outlier Detection Tool

Citi is rolling out its Payment Outlier Detection solution for corporate treasurers to automate the detection of outliers and combat fraud.

The financial institution announced in a press release on Wednesday (June 26) that its Payment Outlier Detection tool is now live in 90 countries. Developed within its Treasury and Trade Solutions unit, the tool deploys artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics to identify outlier payments that could signal fraudulent activity. When outlier payments are detected, clients are able to approve or reject the transactions within the CitiDirect BE and CitiConnect electronic banking platforms.

Citi pointed to rising cybersecurity risks and the burden of increasing transaction volumes as a result of digitization and automation. Banks and corporate treasury departments are facing these challenges and, as faster and real-time payments come into the fold, they will also increasingly face hurdles in detecting outliers and potentially fraudulent transactions.

Citi said it is addressing this challenge through the use of sophisticated data analytics technologies that can automate discrepancy detection and monitoring by assessing changes in client behavior and catching anomalies before they are cleared.

Citi is committed to providing clients with solutions that deliver enhanced control, transparency and efficiency for their global payments,” said Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions Global Head of Payments and Receivables Manish Kohli in a statement. “Citi Payment Outlier Detection is yet another example of our execution against this goal and providing clients with tools that leverage innovation and new technologies for unique value.”

The global launch of Payment Outlier Detection followed a pilot of the tool with 20 Citi clients, the bank said.

The emergence of faster and real-time payments in the corporate sphere has raised concerns about the ability for companies to stop fraudulent transactions as the window of opportunity is significantly shortened.

Earlier this year, Mimiro CEO Charles Delingpole spoke with PYMNTS about this concern, noting that banks have been fined billions of dollars or shut down entirely as a result of failure to comply with KYC and AML laws.

“These problems are only going to become more acute as money moves faster, and moves more internationally,” Delingpole said.