Banks are increasingly consolidating fraud prevention and anti-money laundering operations as financial crime becomes more complex and interconnected. Novobanco’s expanded partnership with Feedzai highlights how unified, AI-driven platforms are reshaping risk management across modern banking environments.
A major transformation in the fight against financial crime is underway as Novobanco, one of Portugal’s primary banking institutions, expands its strategic partnership with the technology firm Feedzai. This multi-year initiative is designed to modernise the bank’s defensive capabilities by unifying fraud prevention and anti-money-laundering operations into a single, cohesive framework. By deploying an artificial intelligence-native platform, the institution intends to streamline its investigative processes and enhance the accuracy of its suspicious-activity detection.
Feedzai is widely recognised for its expertise in financial crime prevention technology. The firm utilises advanced machine learning algorithms to monitor transactions and manage financial risk across various banking channels. These solutions are engineered to help institutions identify complex suspicious patterns in real time, allowing them to respond to threats quickly while ensuring full compliance with ever-changing regulatory mandates.
The relationship between these two entities began in 2023, when the technology provider was tasked with protecting the bank’s digital banking channels. This initial phase utilised digital trust and transaction fraud solutions to secure mobile and online banking journeys. However, as financial crime has become increasingly sophisticated, the bank recognised the need to move away from fragmented compliance systems. In 2025, the partnership reached a new milestone by integrating a full anti-money-laundering suite alongside its existing fraud capabilities into a single centralised platform.
As part of this broader organisational shift, the bank has combined its previously separate teams for Know Your Customer protocols, anti-money laundering, and fraud into a single Economic Crime Prevention function. This unified platform has replaced several legacy tools that were no longer efficient. By consolidating risk signals into a single view, the bank can now gain a clearer understanding of customer behaviour and transaction history. This integrated perspective allows the institution to identify connections between suspicious activities that might have gone unnoticed when managed across isolated systems.
Another significant component of this technological upgrade is the integration of Neterium-powered watchlist screening technology. This feature enables enhanced real-time screening of both customers and their transactions. The primary benefit of this upgrade is improved alert accuracy, leading to a significant reduction in false positives. By minimising these incorrect flags, the bank has lowered the operational burden on its risk teams and reduced the need for constant manual rule maintenance.
These improvements have delivered tangible benefits for both the internal staff and the customer base. Investigation times for suspicious activity have been reduced, leading to a notable increase in productivity among risk analysts. On the consumer side, customers now experience fewer unnecessary disruptions in their banking activities and benefit from faster onboarding. The new framework also provides a stronger defence against various forms of fraud involving first-, second-, and third-parties.
Looking ahead, the organisation plans to extend the use of this unified platform to additional cybersecurity and fraud applications. Upcoming developments are expected to include event-based customer risk reviews that are automatically triggered by significant changes in behaviour. The bank also intends to broaden its fraud detection capabilities across all available channels by integrating additional risk modules. This model is specifically designed to help the institution adapt quickly to emerging threats without increasing operational complexity.
Archit Chamaria, the Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Novobanco, stated that managing fraud and money laundering risks in isolation limits their overall effectiveness. He noted that the goal was to find a platform that allows the bank to see risk holistically while being powered by high-quality data. He emphasised that this transformation is already improving the safety and experience of their customers. Pedro Barata, the Chief Product Officer at Feedzai, added that fraud and financial crime are no longer separate challenges but are part of the same risk ecosystem.
What this means for the industry
• Fraud and AML are converging into unified risk frameworks
Banks are moving away from siloed systems toward integrated platforms that provide a holistic view of financial crime.
• AI-driven platforms are improving detection accuracy
Machine learning is enabling institutions to identify complex patterns and reduce false positives more effectively.
• Operational efficiency is a key driver of transformation
Unified systems reduce manual workloads, streamline investigations and improve productivity for compliance teams.
• Real-time risk monitoring is becoming essential
Banks need continuous visibility across customer behaviour and transactions to respond quickly to evolving threats.
• Financial crime prevention is becoming a strategic priority
Institutions are investing in scalable, adaptive technologies to strengthen resilience and meet increasing regulatory expectations.
Photo by Roman Synkevych on Unsplash
