Mastercard has introduced TRACE (Trace Financial Crime) in the Asia Pacific region, an advanced AI-driven solution designed to enhance fraud detection and prevent financial crime in real-time payment networks.
By analyzing vast transaction data across multiple financial institutions, TRACE provides a network-wide approach to detecting illicit fund movements, overcoming the limitations of traditional, isolated fraud detection systems used by individual banks.
Addressing Fraud in the Era of Real-Time Payments
The rapid growth of Real-Time Payments (RTP) has transformed digital transactions, enabling near-instant fund transfers between banks. However, this speed has also created vulnerabilities, allowing fraudsters to move illicit funds quickly and exploit unsuspecting individuals’ accounts for money laundering.
Many financial institutions still rely on manual reviews or in-house AI models that can only monitor their own transactions. TRACE fills this gap by offering a real-time, AI-powered perspective across an entire payment network, proactively flagging suspicious activity and identifying money mule accounts before they can be misused.
TRACE Debuts in the Philippines
The first Asia Pacific rollout of TRACE is in the Philippines, in partnership with BancNet, which operates the country’s real-time payment system, InstaPay. With 36 domestic banks onboard, TRACE is already strengthening fraud prevention efforts, supporting compliance with the country’s Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA).
“TRACE represents a major leap forward in financial crime prevention. By providing a network-level perspective, it enables financial institutions to take a proactive approach in combating fraud, ensuring the security of digital transactions and strengthening trust in the financial system.”
— Matthew Driver, Executive Vice President, Services, Asia Pacific, Mastercard
BancNet CEO Emmie Reyes highlighted the importance of AI-driven fraud prevention:
“As scams become more sophisticated, financial institutions need advanced tools to stay ahead. TRACE allows us and our network participants to detect and respond to fraud faster, making real-time payment systems safer for everyone.”
A Global Track Record in Fraud Prevention
TRACE is network-agnostic, meaning it can integrate with various payment infrastructures across different countries. It has been operational in the UK since 2018, where it currently supports 21 financial institutions, covering 90% of the Faster Payments Service network. The system has successfully identified and disrupted fraudulent activity on a large scale.
Expanding Protection Across Asia Pacific
With its expansion into Asia Pacific, TRACE is set to play a vital role in protecting consumers, financial institutions, and regulatory bodies from the growing threats of financial crime. By strengthening fraud prevention in real-time payment ecosystems, Mastercard aims to ensure safer and more secure digital transactions across the region.
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