Cuscal beefs up fraud protection

In a major effort to improve its fraud detection capabilities, Cuscal has partnered with Alaric International to upgrade its payments solution applications.

Cuscal supplies transactional banking, liquidity and capital management products, and superannuation solutions, while Alaric is a supplier of payments processing and fraud detection software.

As part of the deal, Cuscal has been provided with Alaric's payments platform, Authentic, and its fraud detection engine, Fractals, which allows users to detect and block fraudulent transactions as they happen.

"Throughout the selection process Cuscal was focused on choosing a product set that was functionally rich but also delivered a far greater flexibility to deliver future change independently," Alaric's Paul Griffin said.

The program involves building in-house switching and ATM driving capabilities to support real-time payments, said Cuscal general manager Adrian Lovney.

Lovney said while Cuscal-owned rediATM's would be supported by Authentic, Fractals will be incorporated into the company's overall electronic fund transfer (ETF) channels, including the company's Vigil fraud protection service.

"The primary consideration with this overall program is to support our current customer base, including the majority of Australia's credit unions, although our new capabilities, especially in real-time payments, may provide us with opportunities to expand over the long term," he said.

"It will also allow us to facilitate real-time intra-community or inter-bank payments - a fast approaching future requirement in terms of payments."

Cuscal managing director, Craig Kennedy, said Alaric had delivered on its payments solution with its integrated software.

"Alaric's Authentic and Fractals provide a robust foundation that will allow our customers to respond quickly and cost effectively to evolving market demand accommodating the emerging new delivery channels, such as Smartphone devices, or regulatory requirements," Kennedy said.