FedNow® Network Intelligence API Empowers Participants to Send Payments With Confidence

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Federal Reserve Financial Services (FRFS) announced its latest risk mitigation tool, a new network intelligence API, will launch on April 28 for early adopters of the tool. The API provides financial institutions and service providers with receiver account-level data observed over the service, adding an extra layer of information to help participants assess the risk of a potential payment.

“The network intelligence API delivers instant, network-level data insights that complement participants’ existing risk management capabilities, providing more information — and confidence — before a transaction is made,” said Nick Stanescu, executive vice president and chief executive of the FedNow Service. “This advancement reinforces our commitment to strengthening risk controls while maintaining the speed and reliability that define the FedNow Service.”

The tool uses historical FedNow data to enrich insights over time, giving FedNow participants access to instant, actionable risk insights to support:

• Early risk mitigation: Participants can use a combination of internal data and network intelligence insights to identify potential risks and to help determine whether to proceed with a transaction, hold it or submit it for additional review.
• Informed decision-making: Network-level data insights provide additional information to help senders better assess the transaction risk in real time. These insights can also support enhancements to digital experiences, such as incorporating additional messaging for higher-risk payments.

Organizations testing the tool have noted easy integration and the benefits of incorporating broader behavioral trends across the network to identify anomalies.

The network intelligence API joins a suite of existing FedNow risk management tools. To help combat authorized push-payment fraud, the FedNow Service is also exploring how to more easily enable Payee Name Verification, part of the FedDetect® Notification Services suite, for real-time needs. This would provide institutions with an added layer of protection by confirming whether a payee’s name matches the account details before a payment is sent.

Across all payment services, FRFS offers a range of risk mitigation controls and tools to help financial institutions manage the security and compliance of payments, plus a FraudClassifier^SM model to help institutions address the industrywide challenge of inconsistent classifications for fraud.

About the FedNow Service

The Federal Reserve Banks developed the FedNow Service to facilitate nationwide reach of instant payment services by financial institutions — regardless of size or geographic location — around the clock, every day of the year. Through financial institutions participating in the FedNow Service, businesses and individuals can send and receive instant payments at any time of day, and recipients have full access to funds immediately, giving them greater flexibility to manage their money and make time-sensitive payments. Access is provided through the Federal Reserve’s FedLine® network, which serves more than 9,000 financial institutions directly or through their agents. For more information, visit FedNowExplorer.org.