49% of Firms Use Bank Account Data to Flag Fraud

Businesses may be able to strengthen their fraud defenses by putting the bank connections they already have to fuller use.

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Payment Protection: Why Firms Still Aren’t Real-Time Ready” found in August that nearly all firms have secure access to customer bank data with permission, but fewer than half use those connections to generate fraud alerts from account activity.

The report drew on a survey of 150 senior executives across seven industries that handle substantial payment flows. With 57% of firms reporting more fraud attempts than a year earlier, the findings suggested companies have room to improve protection through tools already in place.

Companies can:

• Put existing account data to broader use. While 69% of firms use secure bank connections to retrieve account and routing numbers, 49% use them for real-time fraud signals. That’s a 20-percentage-point gap between two uses of the same underlying capability. Think of it as a security camera that checks identification at the entrance but could also help monitor activity inside. For payment teams, the practical step is to assess whether account activity can help distinguish higher-risk transactions before money moves. The report recommended matching the depth of verification to the risk of each payment.
• Connect fraud prevention to measurable savings. Some 68% of firms cited lower fraud losses as a source of cost savings from payment modernization. The same share cited fewer payment failures and returns, while 76% pointed to less manual review and workload. These findings give finance leaders concrete outcomes to track when evaluating improvements. Teams can measure fraud losses alongside review costs and failed payments to see whether changes are delivering broader benefits. The results reflect executives’ own assessments, so they don’t establish that any single technology caused the improvements.
• Start with the payments that firms consider most exposed. Incoming customer payments posed the greatest fraud risk for 47% of respondents, compared with 19% who identified disbursements to customers. That concentration gives businesses a starting point for reviewing controls. Payment teams can examine how they verify incoming payments and where they depend on manual checks. Only 24% of firms have adapted their fraud controls for real-time payments, underscoring the opportunity to strengthen protection before expanding those services.

The potential gains extend to the customer experience. Firms linked secure bank connectivity to improved onboarding completion (90%), lower payment operating costs (89%) and fewer failed or returned payments (85%). Yet only 17% rated their payment experience as excellent. For businesses planning improvements, the report pointed to the practical opportunity of using existing data more effectively to help legitimate payments succeed while identifying suspicious activity sooner.

At PYMNTS Intelligence, we work with businesses to uncover insights that fuel intelligent, data-driven discussions on changing customer expectations, a more connected economy and the strategic shifts necessary to achieve outcomes. With rigorous research methodologies and unwavering commitment to objective quality, we offer trusted data to grow your business. As our partner, you’ll have access to our diverse team of PhDs, researchers, data analysts, number crunchers, subject matter veterans and editorial experts.