Financial Crime World

Financial Fraud Detection Methods in Oman: A Success Story with SAS

Bank Muscat, the leading financial services provider in Oman, has implemented an enterprise-level fraud management system developed by SAS. The system, which went live in 2016, was designed to provide a comprehensive view of customer transactions across all channels.

Background

With assets worth over USD 30 billion, Bank Muscat offers a range of products including corporate banking, retail banking, investment banking, Islamic banking, treasury, private banking, and asset management. The bank’s decision to implement SAS Fraud Management system was driven by its need for a robust solution that could identify and monitor fraudulent transactions across all products.

Collaboration between Bank Muscat and SAS

The collaboration aimed to provide a 360-degree view of customer transactions, enabling the bank to review fraudulent behavior in transactions via cards and e-channels. The system has delivered powerful tools for investigating card fraud cases, as well as cross-channel fraud.

Key Objectives

  • Achieve significant improvements in fraud loss prevention (70% increase)
  • Reduce false positives by 15%
  • Provide real-time decision-making capabilities, detection, and blocking

Competitive Edge of SAS

The bank chose SAS due to its unique ability to provide:

  • Comprehensive data management, analysis, detection, and reporting tools under one suite
  • Real-time decision-making capabilities, detection, and blocking
  • Enterprise-level systems coverage

Implementation Challenges

Developing transaction flows for real-time and near-real-time processing with minimal extended processing time while maintaining effective fraud detection and customer experience.

Solution

SAS provided full-fledged coverage in a phased manner, embracing all major systems and channel touch points. The solution also offered flexibility to change defined rules as needed, allowing Bank Muscat’s Fraud Prevention Committee to assess the genuine impact on customers before implementing changes.

Prior System Limitations

Prior to the implementation of SAS Fraud Management System, Bank Muscat was using Visa Risk Manager for monitoring debit and credit card transactions. However, this system was limited in its capabilities, and Bank Muscat recognized the need for a more comprehensive solution that could automate the entire process of detecting fraudulent transactions and events.

Benefits

The bank’s new fraud management system has enabled it to:

  • Move from a reactive to proactive approach to fraud detection
  • Identify suspicious patterns based on historical transaction behavior and fraud history
  • Stay ahead of fraudsters and protect its customers’ assets