Macquarie Bank has joined BioCatch Trust Australia, a network that allows banks to share intelligence on fraud and scams based on customer behaviour and device data. The initiative, which launched in November 2024 with five founding members — ANZ, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, Suncorp Bank (Norfina Limited), and Westpac — aims to assess the risk of transactions before funds are transferred.
In its first ten months, BioCatch Trust Australia evaluated $500 billion in payments and helped member banks prevent millions of dollars in potential losses. Macquarie is now the fifth-largest bank in Australia to join the network.
David Sheehan, Head of Client Protection at Macquarie Bank, said: “As global fraud and scam activity becomes more sophisticated, we’ve continued to invest in our digital security and tools. We know that security and trust is paramount for our customers, so we look forward to working with BioCatch Trust Australia to add another layer of security protection for Australians.
“As new technology becomes available, customer vigilance is still a key part of scam and fraud prevention and it’s always been our view that it’s important that a broad range of impacted sectors take a collaborative, multi-sector approach when tackling scams and fraud. We think Trust Australia is a great example of bank collaboration in action,” Mr Sheehan added.
“Joining the Trust network was a natural next step in our broader scam prevention initiatives including real-time payment controls, behavioral biometrics and our standalone two-factor authentication app, Macquarie Authenticator.”
BioCatch Trust provides an extra layer of protection by evaluating behavioural patterns and device information during online transactions within its network. If risks are detected with a receiving account, this information is sent instantly to the sending bank so they can review the transaction before any money leaves the sender’s account. This process helps prevent scams where victims are manipulated outside their digital banking sessions. The system uses pseudonymisation technology to protect customer identities while sharing intelligence between banks.
Gadi Mazor, CEO of BioCatch said: “We’re proud to welcome Macquarie Bank to BioCatch Trust Australia. Its commitment to innovation and customer protection strengthens our shared mission to disrupt scam operations and protect Australians from financial harm. The addition of Macquarie means Trust Australia now protects more than 85% of the country’s online banking population.”
The effectiveness of BioCatch Trust increases as more institutions participate because additional data improves detection capabilities across Australian banks.
BioCatch uses machine learning models trained on over 3,000 anonymized data points such as keystrokes or touchscreen actions during digital banking sessions. More than 30 out of the world’s largest 100 banks use BioCatch solutions globally.