Modernizing fraud technology with AI

At RBC, digital innovation has revolutionized the way we serve our clients, offering unprecedented convenience and enhancing their overall experience. At the same time, increasingly sophisticated fraud attacks mean the bank needs to keep pace with these evolving dangers. To combat this, RBC Technology recently launched a fraud modernization initiative to reinforce the bank’s ability to detect and combat fraud.

The initiative was recognized by the 2024 CIO Awards Canada from IDC in collaboration with Foundry’s CIO which recognize organizations using IT in innovative ways to deliver business value.

“Our goal was to integrate advanced AI, machine learning, and real-time data analytics into a dynamic, intelligent system capable of predicting and preventing fraud before it could reach our clients,” said Chris Phillips, senior vice president, Global Functions Technology, RBC.

We set out to create a fit-for-purpose infrastructure, allow for complex event processing, and embed behavior analytics and fraud prediction capabilities using AI and ML.  The result is an agile, adaptable, and effective fraud detection platform which has produced significant advancements including:

Increased accuracy

Using AI and machine learning, RBC transitioned from rules-based systems to adaptive and real-time risk scoring engines. Large amounts of transaction data could be analyzed and processed with increased precision which improved detection accuracy and ensured our defenses evolved as new fraud tactics emerged.

Real-time detection and response

By deploying streaming analytics and complex event processing, RBC can better detect and respond to threats instantaneously. This also allows for the collection of vast amounts of real-time indicators so threats can be responded to in real time.

Flexibility and agility

Moving to a modular architecture with integrated AI and machine learning models means the new system could update and optimize itself seamlessly by leveraging these emerging technologies.

Collaboration and vision

While advanced technology powered this transformation, the key was collaboration between RBC’s data science, technology and enterprise platforms teams who came together to build a groundbreaking defense system that protected RBC’s clients in ways that fraud technology hadn’t previously done. The collective expertise ensured that the systems integration was innovative, robust, scalable, and adaptable for the future.

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