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"It's become extremely hard to convince people they are A majority of FIs (65 percent) told Mastercard's pollsters
being duped," Donna Turner, an adviser with Ernst & that AI is a useful tool in solving social engineering and
Young, said during the Unit 21 summit. payment push scams. One advantage of AI is that the tech-
nology evolves with changing data, making it easier to
Dueling AI strategies spot new and emerging scams. "As the AI model matures,
AI provides cache for fraudsters and fraud fighters alike. it becomes more effective unlike other technologies that
And this has serious consequences for the adoption of in- become obsolete or need constant updating," Mastercard
stant payment networks, like Zelle, RTP and the Federal stated.
Reserve's FedNow.
But AI is not a panacea. "AI can't solve all the problems,"
"As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, the Gunasena said, adding that AI works by selecting specific
threat of fraud looms large, demanding robust and in- elements and formulating answers based on those ele-
novative solutions," Mastercard noted in a 2023 blog post. ments. "It's not like a human making intelligent decisions,"
"This is where [AI] steps into the limelight, promising to he pointed out. He further noted that ethical and legal
revolutionize transaction fraud detection and bolster se- problems can ensue absent the right controls and inputs.
curity measures."
Mastercard's survey identified numerous barriers to wide
A 2023 survey of FIs conducted by Mastercard found near- adoption of AI to meet the challenges of fraud and money
ly half (49 percent) had already integrated AI into their laundering. These include implementation timeframes,
fraud detection systems, while 93 percent planned to in- data availability and the ability to explain outputs. "Re-
vest in AI within the next five years. "This overwhelming search shows that deployment can take months, even
interest in AI signifies a paradigm shift in how the finan- years, to complete," Mastercard noted in its report.
cial industry perceives technology's potential to combat
transaction fraud," Mastercard wrote. Patti Murphy, self-described payments maven of the fourth estate, is
senior editor at the Green Sheet. She also co-hosts the Merchant Sales
Podcast, and is president of ProScribes Ink.

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