Bank of Ireland has reported a significant reduction in payment fraud following the deployment of an AI-powered detection system developed in partnership with Featurespace, a Visa solution, achieving a 30% fall in attempted payment fraud and a 25% reduction in customer losses since the technology was introduced in 2024, according to Think Business.

The Featurespace platform uses AI and machine learning to identify both existing and emerging forms of fraud by learning how individual accounts are typically used, enabling the bank to detect suspicious behaviour earlier while reducing unnecessary alerts that can delay legitimate payments for customers.

The impact on customer experience has been substantial. False positives have dropped by 87.1%, meaning customers are significantly less likely to be contacted or asked to confirm a payment. Alert volumes have fallen by 85%, allowing bank staff to focus on higher-risk transactions rather than routine checks. Case handling time has been halved, and 90% of customers now confirm genuine transactions without needing to contact the bank directly.

Nicola Sadlier, Head of Fraud Protection at Bank of Ireland, said: "Protecting our customers against fraud is one of our top priorities and staying ahead of the fraudsters requires constant innovation."

Sadlier added: "Along with significantly reducing payment fraud losses, we've been able to do so in a way that's simple, seamless and effective for customers. This collaborative, award-winning work is ultimately delivering the best protection for our customers."

James Mirfin, SVP and Head of Risk and Security Intelligence at Visa, said: "As criminals continue to employ more sophisticated methods and technologies, Visa solutions, such as the Featurespace platform, can enable financial institutions to stay a step ahead of fraudsters and tackle rising fraud rates."

Mirfin added: "This combination of adaptability and customer experience is exactly what the industry should be striving for it shows what's possible when banks move beyond static controls, to real-time intelligent decisioning."

The results have earned global industry recognition, with the Bank of Ireland and Featurespace collaboration cited as a benchmark for how financial institutions can modernise fraud detection without increasing friction for customers in the process.

For the full details of Bank of Ireland's AI-powered fraud detection programme, read the full report.