Fraud detection, machine learning & real-time payments - Westpac NZ's IT transformation

Westpac NZ has adopted real-time payments and a series of fraud prevention solutions as a part of a wide-ranging IT transformation.

Expanding an already long-standing relationship with ACI, Westpac NZ has picked up ACI's Universal Payments (UP) Immediate Payment solution, creating a "financial transaction hub", enabling payments across channels and networks that clear in real-time.

"Building on our close collaborative relationship with ACI, it was logical to partner with them as we shifted to DevOps methodology and practices," says Dawie Olivier, CIO, Westpac NZ.

"Implementing ACI's retail payments solution on Linux positions us to fully capitalise on the transformation of both our IT culture and technology stack.

"We can leverage capabilities across the solutions that are part of ACI's Universal Payments Framework, and bring them together in a multitude of innovative products.

Westpac NZ also adopted ACI's UP Retail Payments tech which acquires, authenticates, switches and authorises financial transactions across multiple channels.

The implementation allows Westpac NZ to make changes quickly and rapidly scale up operations when required.

With the ability to detect fraud, ACI's UP Payments Risk Management helps businesses across a range of industries, from telcos, retail and travel to hospitality and gaming, to avoid the costs and damage of fraud incidents.

ACI's UP Payments Risk Management solution transactional throughput delivers real-time adaptive machine learning and the ability to pattern match, so that fraud trends can be identified before they impact the bank's customers or the bank itself.

"Westpac NZ is a shining example of how a long-established bank can transform its IT culture and operations to become nimbler, and supply customers with innovative solutions," says Phillip Finnegan, General Manager, Pacific, ACI Worldwide.

"ACI's UP solutions provide the underlying technology, but it's the company's agile implementation approach that has made this a truly transformative project that has sped up time to market, enabled innovation, and, crucially, reduced the risk of operating in a real-time world.