One of the questions we are often asked is whether or not faster payments will lead to faster fraud. There are many fraud vectors and of course having the ability to initiate payments 24×7 provides a broader window through which to carry out nefarious activities.
In that sense, yes, faster payments capabilities will provide some new opportunities, not necessarily faster fraud, since one can already use RTGS rails for fast fraud, just more access to fast fraud payments. This indeed requires banks and their clients to adjust monitoring controls and techniques to compensate for 24×7 payment windows. This announcement, which we picked up on IBS intelligence, indicates that Citi has gotten the memo and created a tool to help manage the risk.