SwiftPay launches fraud shield as BSP rules tighten

The company unveiled SwiftGuard, a fraud detection and decisioning platform that screens transactions in real time and helps BSP-supervised institutions identify suspicious activity before funds are transferred.

The launch comes as financial scams become a growing threat to the country’s fast-expanding digital payments industry. According to the State of Scams in the Philippines 2025 report by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA), more than 60 percent of Filipino adults are reportedly targeted by scams each year, while e-wallets account for nearly three-fourths of channels used by fraudsters to receive illicit proceeds, highlighting the need for stronger defenses.

The rollout also coincides with the implementation of the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) and BSP Circular No. 1213, which require banks and other regulated financial institutions to deploy systems capable of detecting and preventing fraudulent transactions in real time.

SwiftPay said SwiftGuard evaluates transactions using the five fraud-monitoring parameters required under the BSP framework, including transaction velocity, device and account changes, geolocation, blacklist screening and behavioral anomalies. Based on its assessment, the platform recommends whether a transaction should proceed, be held, blocked or undergo additional verification, while leaving the final decision to the financial institution.

Rather than replacing existing banking systems, SwiftGuard is designed to integrate with them through standard application programming interfaces (APIs), allowing institutions to strengthen fraud controls without overhauling their technology infrastructure.

The platform also includes anti-money laundering integration, audit trails, case management tools and long-term data retention to support regulatory compliance and investigations.

SwiftPay said institutions including VBank, Netbank and AgriBank have already adopted the platform, reflecting how compliance is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage as banks invest in stronger fraud prevention to protect customers and sustain confidence in the country’s growing digital finance ecosystem.