Visa: Combatting Cyber Threats in Financial Services

Visa has introduced a commercial product that allows financial institutions to access the cybersecurity infrastructure the payments firm uses to protect its own network.

The Visa Threat Intelligence Platform is designed to help clients identify cyber threats before they result in fraud or financial loss.

According to the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, fraud in the corporate finance sector often stems from earlier cyber incidents. These breaches typically begin with data compromise, credential theft or system exploitation before any fraudulent transaction occurs.

Platform tested on global network

The technology was developed by Visa's internal defence operations team and tested across its global payments network. According to Visa, the company blocks approximately 90 million cyber attacks and 11 million phishing emails each month across more than 200 countries and territories.

The firm validated the platform against attacks before extending the capabilities to the wider financial ecosystem. Visa operates under an internal mission of zero breach and zero disruption.

The announcement was made at the Visa Payments Forum in Paris, with President Oliver Jenkyn and CTO Rajat Taneja opening the forum.

Rajat says that "trust is the very foundation of commerce", while Oliver outlined four priorities for Visa: generative AI and the future of commerce; stablecoins; fraud and security; and trust and brand.

Threats across the payments ecosystem

Cyber attacks that expose payment credentials can originate from multiple points across the payments ecosystem. Merchants, issuers, acquirers, processors and third-party service providers all present potential entry points.

Compromised corporate and consumer credentials are often trafficked and misused. This can result in financial loss and operational disruption for institutions.

Mandy Lamb, Head of Value-Added Services at Visa Europe, comments: "Fraud is often the result of cyber incidents that go undetected until it is too late."

"With the Visa Threat Intelligence Platform, we are helping financial institutions identify risks earlier and respond with greater precision before they may lead to fraud or financial loss." 

Five intelligence streams available

The platform delivers five capabilities designed for the financial sector:

• Threat intelligence provides malware-based indicators of compromise.
• Vulnerability intelligence highlights exploits and exposures relevant to each organisation.
• Brand intelligence detects and mitigates impersonation and brand abuse to protect corporate reputation.
• Digital identity intelligence monitors and protects executives and employees from being targeted by malicious actors.
• Financial intelligence surfaces compromised payment credentials from the dark web and enriches this data with VisaNet insights, transforming data into information that corporate fraud and risk teams can act upon.

The combination of cyber and fraud intelligence could help institutions anticipate threats and prioritise response.

Investment in network security

Visa has spent at least US$13bn on technology over the past five years to reduce fraud and increase network security, culminating in the commercial rollout. 

Oliver noted that CTOs, CISOs and Chief Risk Officers are conducting extensive work in this area, adding that fintechs and venture capitals have "security and fraud protection at the top of their list".

Financial institutions face growing need for threat intelligence built for payments. Through its platform, Visa aims to help clients address cyber threats earlier and protect the digital payments ecosystem.

Mandy adds: "By bringing together cyber and payments intelligence, we're enabling our clients to better protect their customers, reduce the damaging impact of fraud and strengthen confidence in digital payments."