Stop APP fraud with information sharing in 5 easy steps
Collaboration and information sharing can have a massive impact on financial crime, helping banks to recover 80% more stolen funds. Take authorised push payment (APP) fraud* for example — a scam where customers are tricked into transferring money into an account that appears legitimate.
*It’s known by different names across Europe, such as ‘account-to-account fraud’, ‘bank impersonation fraud’, or ‘payments fraud’.
To defend against this type of scam, there’s a crucial period when fraud is suspected but not confirmed which the sending bank can use to its advantage.
To protect the customer, the fincrime team at the sending financial institution must alert the fincrime team receiving the funds as quickly as possible. If this is done in a timely manner, the potentially stolen money can be stopped before it moves any further. Then, a joint investigation can be carried out to determine if it was a legitimate transaction or not.
This approach requires real-time intelligence exchange between fincrime teams — and Salv Bridge is the first platform to offer a proven solution for this. By enabling institutions to share highly suspicious cases, the crucial period when fraud is suspected can be used to recover stolen funds, disrupt criminal networks and protect customers.
The importance of information sharing in financial crime
Criminals know that the finance industry is siloed and that fast cross-border transactions offer them a way to take advantage of these silos. Add in a fragmented regulatory environment and criminals can operate across borders with minimal resistance.
In isolation, financial institutions are at a disadvantage. Only by sharing information on suspected fraud do they have a fighting chance against a well-organised threat.
When financial crime teams can share information and warnings in real-time with other institutions, they significantly improve their chance to detect and prevent fraud.
Information sharing myths
There’s a common misunderstanding regarding regulation and information sharing in financial crime. For example, some practitioners assume there will be big GDPR and banking secrecy implications.
To manage this, Salv Bridge deals only with intelligence sharing—not a wider data sharing initiative. That’s a key distinction, as Ester Eggert, our Head of Product, explains: “There are data points that fall under GDPR, such as account numbers, but since the transactions already exist as part of the standard payments process, neither financial institution exposes any additional data points.”
So instead of sharing customer data, which would come under close regulatory scrutiny, Salv Bridge focuses on intelligence sharing: sharing only the specific red flags that can help protect customers.
Another myth is that implementing such a platform is complex and creates more work. But Salv Bridge is designed for ease of integration, requiring minimal IT involvement and no disruptive changes to existing systems.
This simplicity is why over 70 institutions have adopted Salv Bridge over the past four years.
The impact of Salv Bridge as a cross-border intelligence sharing network
Salv Bridge has already demonstrated its value in combating fraud. With a true positive rate of over 90%, alerts generated through the platform enable financial crime teams to act decisively and efficiently. Recovery rates for institutions using Salv Bridge are as high as 80%, a big improvement compared to the industry average of just 5%.
Collaborating based on suspected fraud gives a high true positive rate. And a high true positive rate enables your team to focus on high-value and pressing investigations. Its secure, regulator-friendly design ensures compliance with data protection laws, making it a trusted solution for European banks and fintechs.
Joining Salv Bridge in five easy steps
If you’re interested in solving the APP scam challenge, and you’d like to share intelligence with your crime fighting peers across borders, then register your interest in joining the next Salv Bridge cohort. Joining is a straightforward process that can be broken down into five steps:
1. Register Interest
Contact us to express your interest and learn more about the platform’s capabilities.
2. Engage with legal and IT
Our team works closely with your legal and IT departments to ensure compliance and compatibility.
3. Sign up
Once all stakeholders are aligned, all the paperwork is signed to formalise the agreement
4. Implement into your business
Salv Bridge can be connected to your internal systems via API — although this isn’t necessary to get started. Training takes place and internal working process are updated. All of this happens quickly so you can get going quickly to prove value without complex IT changes.
5. Start collaborating
Access the network, start sharing intelligence, and immediately enhance your fraud prevention capabilities.
With these five steps, you can quickly become part of a robust intelligence-sharing network, reaping the benefits without significant operational disruption.
As APP fraud evolves, the importance of joining a cross-border intelligence-sharing network cannot be overstated.
We’ve been championing information sharing for a number of years and we’re proud to see the collaboration conversation turn into action that defines better ways of fighting fincrime.
Applications close on 31 March, 2025, so be quick to secure your spot and to join a network that’s changing the way financial institutions combat fraud.
