Mastercard Introduces AI-Powered TRACE to Strengthen Fraud Detection in Asia Pacific
Mastercard has unveiled TRACE (Trace Financial Crime) in the Asia Pacific region, an advanced artificial intelligence-driven solution designed to combat financial crime within real-time payment networks.
By leveraging vast transaction data from multiple financial institutions, TRACE provides a holistic, network-wide approach to identifying and preventing illicit fund movements, surpassing the limitations of individual banks’ internal monitoring systems.
The rapid adoption of Real-Time Payments (RTP) has revolutionized digital transactions, enabling near-instant fund transfers across financial institutions. However, this speed has also created opportunities for fraudsters and money launderers who exploit the system by quickly moving funds across multiple accounts. Many criminals use unsuspecting individuals’ bank accounts—often acquired through scams—to launder money, making detection more challenging.
Traditionally, financial institutions have relied on isolated fraud detection methods, which often involve manual reviews or in-house AI solutions that lack the ability to track patterns across an entire payment network. TRACE addresses this gap by providing a real-time, AI-powered view of suspicious transactions, proactively flagging fraudulent activity and identifying money mule accounts before they can be used for illicit purposes.
The first rollout of TRACE in Asia Pacific is in the Philippines, in collaboration with BancNet, the operator of the country’s real-time payment system, InstaPay. With 36 domestic banks already onboarded, TRACE is enhancing fraud prevention efforts by helping financial institutions trace illicit fund flows and comply with the Philippines’ new Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA).
“TRACE represents a major leap forward in financial crime prevention,” said Matthew Driver, Executive Vice President, Services, Asia Pacific, Mastercard. “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.”
BancNet CEO Emmie Reyes emphasized the importance of intelligence-driven fraud prevention, stating, “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.”
TRACE is designed to be network-agnostic, meaning it can be seamlessly integrated into various payment infrastructures across different countries. Its success in the United Kingdom, where it has been in use since 2018, demonstrates its effectiveness. Today, TRACE supports 21 financial institutions in the UK, covering 90% of the Faster Payments Service network, and continues to identify and disrupt fraudulent activity on a large scale.
With its expansion into Asia Pacific, TRACE is set to play a crucial role in protecting consumers, financial institutions, and regulatory bodies from the evolving threats of financial crime, ensuring the continued growth and security of real-time payment ecosystems.
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