LSEG Risk Intelligence, a provider of compliance, risk management and fraud prevention solutions, has announced the launch of Global Account Verification (GAV) in APAC and EMEA.

GAV is an innovative solution which checks that payee and account details match before transfers are confirmed, protecting businesses and individuals from fraudulent transactions. The expansion of GAV globally follows the initial launch for US customers in October 2024.

GAV helps organisations protect their customers by enabling real-time verification of bank accounts and ownership across 21 countries. It verifies whether payments will reach the correct recipients by querying account information and categorising them with a “match”, a “close match” or a “no match”.

The solution is designed to combat Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud – where fraudsters trick their victims into willingly making large bank transfers to them by posing as a bank or another trusted organisation.

LSEG plans to add to the number of available countries in 2025.

Dal Sahota, Head of Trusted Payments at LSEG Risk Intelligence:

“Demand for cross-border payments creates opportunities as well as risks – particularly around APP fraud and businesses will need to stay one step in front.

“Fraudsters are constantly innovating and operating with greater sophistication and scale than ever before. As bad actors target vulnerabilities across multiple points of the client and vendor workflows, we will continue to invest in robust, data-driven solutions to help our customers mitigate global payments and identity risk with greater assurance.”

Regulatory bodies are also stepping up with recent rules on reimbursements for victims for APP fraud in the UK and the EU. For instance, the EU’s Instant Payments regulations require that all payment service providers within the bloc offer 24/7 instant payments starting January 2025. In addition, account name and IBAN account number checks will be mandatory from October 2025 for Eurozone payment service providers.

GAV will help organisations, including multinational corporations, financial institutions and fintechs, defend their businesses and protect customers from increasingly sophisticated fraud techniques, while streamlining payment workflows.

GAV is also available via API, meaning that organisations can seamlessly integrate account data into their systems driving efficiencies.