Bank of America launch Account Validation service

Bank of America, one of the world's leading financial institutions, has launched Account Validation, a fraud prevention service for corporate and public sector clients. 

The number of digital fraud attempts in the US was up 25.07% in the first four months of 2021, compared to the last four months of 2020. That’s according to a report from TransUnion, which found that when looking at specific industries, digital fraud attacks against financial services companies increased 109% in the US during that same period. Globally, fraud attempts in this industry were up 149%.

How can Account Validation help prevent fraud? 

Prior to initiating an electronic credit or debit payment, a client using Account Validation, can verify the status of an account and authenticate the account owner. 

"With fraud on the rise, companies can no longer make assumptions about whether the person or entity on the other end of a payment is who they say they are," said David Kretz, head of Global Payments in Global Transaction Services at Bank of America. "Account Validation and other fraud prevention tools are essential for today's treasury teams."

A key component of Account Validation is its ability to respond to clients' inquiries in near real-time. Companies can use the service prior to making payments to consumers via ACH, wire transfer, or a real-time payment. Additionally, Account Validation could help companies to comply with the NACHA WEB Debit Account Validation rule.

Account Validation also assists in helping prevent misdirected payments, which occur when a payee inadvertently provides an incorrect account number.

"Account Validation can help companies prevent fraudulent payments without compromising on speed for valid payments to vendors and contractors," said Stephanie Wolf, head of Financial Institutions Sales and head of Business Banking Sales in Global Transaction Services at Bank of America. "By reducing misdirected payments, companies will also save a considerable amount of time and money it takes to attempt to retrieve misdirected payments."

Account Validation is the latest payments innovation brought to the market by Bank of America. Others launched this year include Recipient Select, Complete AP, the Executive Explorer travel card, Virtual Account Management (VAM 2.0), and enhanced Intelligent Receivables. It is supported by Early Warning Services, LLC (EWS), a fintech company that provides identity, risk and payment solutions to financial institutions. Early Warning is owned by seven U.S. financial institutions, including Bank of America.