PKO Bank Polski

Comprehensive fraud detection with SAS® Enterprise Fraud Management.

Having systemic protection from organised fraudulent practices and cyber-related frauds and forgeries is a top priority for PKO Bank Polski, the best protected bank in Poland.

PKO Bank Polski is a strong and advanced universal bank that combines its traditional dominating position in the retail sector with consistent strengthening of its position in the corporate and investment banking sectors. For years, the Bank has been increasing its shareholders’ value by generating solid and sustainable profit and consolidating its market shares in key business areas. It is the leading bank in Poland in terms of the number of current accounts, payment cards issued and value of mortgage loans granted. The Bank focuses on attractive products and quality customer service. It continues investing in modern processes, innovative services and new technologies. Its strengths include the ability to improve continuously, to make the most of market opportunities and sharpen its competitive edge.

The fraud detection strategies, obviously implemented initially in areas that are key for stopping adverse trends, allowed to detect and prevent a huge portion of attempted frauds. What is also important, this does not affect the standard sales and operating processes of the Bank. The solutions and tools implemented, including analytical models, seem to be ideal for detecting adverse events, and they are also being continuously developed. The analytical tools and the expertise of our partner’s team combined with competencies of the Bank’s analysts allow for continuous monitoring and quick responding to new fraud events.

Bartosz Baranowski
Security Department Director, PKO Bank Polski

The scale and variety of frauds in the Polish financial sector have forced the need to implement advanced preventive solutions and measures for monitoring and detecting any negative events. The huge variety of fraud activities, including application frauds and identity thefts as well as online frauds – not only as isolated events but also as part of organised activity of criminal groups using advanced technology and cyberspace – required creativity in developing efficient and comprehensive systems to secure PKO Bank Polski and the funds entrusted with it by its Customers. In the era of constantly evolving technologies, anti-fraud tools must be based on effective algorithms that support making decisions in real time or under the pressure of time.

In response to the need of protection of interests of PKO Bank Polski and those of its Customers, a decision was made to implement a comprehensive fraud detection platform that utilises advanced analytics and enables evaluation of events in real time, before funds are transferred out of the Bank. A platform that connects and combines data from different areas of the Bank to detect and prevent frauds of any type.

Why SAS?

SAS® Enterprise Fraud Management provides a flexible and comprehensive response to the demand for intelligent tools for detecting events that are broadly defined as fraud. Having considered the solutions available in the market, PKO Bank Polski has selected SAS® Enterprise Fraud Management for its competitive advantage in terms of versatility and comprehensive functionalities. It not only meets the current needs of the Bank, but will also allow for flexible management of the fraud area in the future.

The following features of SAS® Enterprise Fraud Management were decisive for selection of this platform:

  • Complete end-to-end technology platform that includes data marts with data processing and data quality functionalities, decision-making engine with advanced analytics, and alert analyst interface.
  • Flexible and open platform architecture with the option of independent solution extension by the Bank’s team.
  • Efficient processing of large volumes of data both as batches and in real time.
  • Compliance with stringent IT requirements including performance requirements related to the transaction evaluation speed.
  • Holistic customer insight (cross-channel and cross-product) that allows for comprehensive understanding of the customer and their behaviours for the purpose of even more efficient detection of fraud in different channels.
  • Hybrid analytics based on both advanced predictive models and social network analysis; it combines these aspects in different configurations to significantly improve fraud detection efficiency.
  • Satisfaction of other SAS customers who have successfully implemented the EFM solution.
  • Substantive and technical support provided by SAS both during and after the implementation process.
  • Local competencies of SAS Poland in the area of platform architecture and their experience in building efficient business solutions as well as expertise in the anti-fraud field.

Solution

By implementing SAS® Enterprise Fraud Management, PKO Bank Polski will get an advanced fraud detection platform that enables comprehensive identification and prevention of frauds as well as reduction of fraud-related losses in all areas of the Bank’s operations. Key components of the implemented SAS® Enterprise Fraud Management solution include:

  • Correlation of customer insight and information about their activities.
  • Use of advanced predictive models, social network analysis and business rules based on experience of both SAS’ and Bank’s experts.
  • Identification of potential mule accounts with the use of advanced neural networks models.
  • Real-time detection of frauds in transactional banking to stop fraudulent transactions before money is transferred out of the Bank.
  • Implementation of in memory tools for visual exploration and analysis of data for identification of new fraud trends.

The SAS solution has been implemented in production environments supporting the most sensitive areas. The organisation-wide implementation of the comprehensive solution is planned to be completed in 2017.

Benefits

The SAS® Enterprise Fraud Management solution being implemented at PKO Bank Polski is a comprehensive technology platform that enables direct support of key business processes related to the protection of the Bank and its Customers from frauds. As early as during the implementation phase, it helped PKO Bank Polski to reduce fraud-related losses. With alerts generated by the system, the number of false alarms was significantly reduced, and analysts receive comprehensive information needed to make decisions more efficiently.

With the flexible rule definition and testing interface, the Bank can respond to changing fraud trends. This is especially important for preventing frauds in remote channels. Meanwhile, the social network analysis has helped to identify attempts of identity change, forgeries and organised crime activities.

pko-bank-polski-poziom

Challenge

Being a market leader is not just about having the best product offering and solid sales performance. It is also about protecting customers’ interests and ensuring that amidst increasing fraud activity, the highest security standards are used to protect the funds entrusted with the Bank.

Solution

In response to the needs of PKO Bank Polski, a comprehensive fraud detection platform is being deployed: SAS® Enterprise Fraud Management. The solution covers all areas of fraud and allows for identification of frauds or attempted frauds in real time.

Benefits

By implementing the new solution, PKO Bank Polski is able to reduce fraud-related losses. With the advanced analytics, the Bank is able to successfully prevent fraud, and its analysts receive comprehensive information that helps them make decisions more efficiently.

The results illustrated in this article are specific to the particular situations, business models, data input, and computing environments described herein. Each SAS customer’s experience is unique based on business and technical variables and all statements must be considered non-typical. Actual savings, results, and performance characteristics will vary depending on individual customer configurations and conditions. SAS does not guarantee or represent that every customer will achieve similar results. The only warranties for SAS products and services are those that are set forth in the express warranty statements in the written agreement for such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. Customers have shared their successes with SAS as part of an agreed-upon contractual exchange or project success summarization following a successful implementation of SAS software. Brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies.