ML in Banking: 5 Times Less Fraud Risk by Spotting Weird Transactions

Machine learning in banking
ML in banking: 5 times less fraud risk by spotting weird transactions
Timspark leveraged the power of machine learning in banking to keep an eye on digital transactions and catch any abnormal behavior with a new extension for the existing client’s system.
#Fintech #Banking
#MachineLearning
#DataAnalytics

Client*

We have partnered with a major bank that has branches all over the US, providing loans, deposits, and more banking products.
*We cannot provide any information about the client or specifics of the case study due to non-disclosure agreement (NDA) restrictions.

Project in numbers

duration
19 months
team
13 specialists

Team involved in the project

industry
Banking, Fintech
solution
ML-based system for fraud risk analysis and detection
technologies

Python, Scala, DVC, MLFlow, Comet, Apache Spark MLLib, Scikit-learn, LightGBM, XGBoost, Hyperopt, PySpark, Numpy, Pandas, Scipy, Docker, Docker Compose, Kubernetes, Jenkins

2 x Frontend Developers
2 x Backend Developers
1 x Project Manager
1 x Business Analyst
2 x Data Engineers
3 x ML Engineers
1 x QA Engineer
1 x UX/UI Designer

Challenge

The key American bank faced rising financial fraud threats, and traditional systems proved ineffective. We were picking the best ways to use machine learning in banking and finance against increasing fraudulent activities that endangered customer safety and the bank’s reputation.

Related objectives

Implement ML for fraud detection
Upgrade the anti-money laundering system
Increase customer safety
Improve the bank’s reputation

Solution & functionality

We suggested adding an ML-powered extension to the banking system to scrutinize large data volumes and protect funds from malicious activities. It analyzes account holders’ transactions and raises alerts for any unusual, suspicious, or fraudulent behavior. With deep learning fintech algorithms, our team processed extensive data to spot irregularities signaling potential fraud risk.

Aggregating data

To begin, our engineers collected and unified all banking data, encompassing user identities, transaction histories, locations, payment methods, and other pertinent factors.

Detecting anomalies

We identified distinctive patterns like high transaction amounts or segmented transactions to avoid automated tax reporting, enabling ML algorithms to distinguish fraud from regular banking. Transactions are tagged as “good” or “bad”.
We also accessed a vast dataset, efficiently spotting patterns and anomalies, and selected crucial features through data comparison and elimination techniques, improving fraud risk analysis and detection.

Training the ML model

Our ML team created algorithms to catch odd situations that slip past regular rules. This extension can predict even with less data, using smart machine-learning methods. So, our solution uses embedded representations, not typical features, to handle transactions.

Implementing the ML model

Once a threat’s spotted, the system shoots real-time data to the admin, who can stop or nix operations for further digging. Depending on the fraud chance, there are three outcomes:
  • If fraud odds are below 5%, the transaction gets the green light.
  • If the odds range between 6% and 70%, an extra check like an SMS code, fingerprint, or secret question is needed.
  • If the fraud chance tops 80%, the transaction’s axed, needing hands-on analysis.
Plus, we set up good ML tools to explain models, making predictions clear and keeping things smooth for users.

Results and business value

Timspark’s top-notch ML extension spots fraud and takes action. Security’s solid — no breaches or financial crimes.

x2.4 speedier in processing

Our ML algorithms swiftly handle heaps of data, keeping up with the rapid transactions.

99.3% accuracy of fraud detection

Using these algorithms, we find tricky patterns that humans might miss. That means fewer mistakes and less unseen fraud.

Less mundane tasks

Our solution checks hundreds of thousands of payments per second, making the transaction process as painless as possible.
The algorithms catch tiny changes fast, checking tons of payments per second. The bank gets tighter security, faster transactions, and less chance of missed fraud. It means smoother banking and peace of mind for the end customers.

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    An expert contacts you after thoroughly reviewing your requirements.

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    Holistic DevOps solution for banking software lifecycle

    DevOps environment

    Holistic DevOps Solution for Banking Software Lifecycle

    Our team built a DevOps toolkit for transparent development processes in the banking domain.

    #Banking

    #Fintech

    #Cloud

    Client*

    Bank with various departments and an extensive range of 80+ digital offerings (exclusive software, CRM platforms, ERP systems, web gateways, and mobile applications).

    *We cannot provide any information about the client or specifics of the case study due to non-disclosure agreement (NDA) restrictions.

    Project in numbers

    duration

    September 2019 – Ongoing

    team

    12 specialists

    Team involved in the project

    industry

    Banking, Fintech

    solution

    Streamlined management of digital solutions under the DevOps toolkit

    technologies

    Jira, Microsoft Teams, Confluence, Bitbucket, Bamboo, Jenkins, Load Runner, Selenium, JUnit, TEST IT, SonarQube, Anchore, Black Duck, Fortify, Ansible, Packer, Nexus Repository Pro, Zabbix, Grafana, Elasticsearch, Loki, Kubernetes, VMware Tanzu, Microsoft Azure, VMware, Hyper-V

    1 x Cloud Architect

    3 x Business Analysts

    1 x Project Manager

    5 x DevOps Engineers

    2 x System Engineers

    Challenge

    Due to the lack of a coherent software development strategy, the customer could not leverage the advantages of DevOps within the banking domain. Therefore, they encountered challenges such as fragmented codebases and inconsistent knowledge transfer, absence of automated testing, and extended time-to-market for their solutions.

    Related objectives

    Organize scattered codebases

    Streamline communications

    Reduce time-to-market

    Solution & functionality

    Our team considered the functional requirements provided by the customer, with cost-effectiveness and reliability in mind, to build a fully functional DevOps environment. The customer is now able to manage application lifecycle, communications, continuous integration, testing, deployment, and monitoring with more transparency and flexibility.

    Effective app lifecycle and communications management

    Our team saw Atlassian products as the option, as their functionality provides smooth implementation and ability to practice agile management. We set up Jira to handle development processes and improve communication.

    Confluence was used to generate and store documentation, which used to lack systematization.
    Microsoft Teams was implemented to streamline communication between development teams and external collaborators.

    Version control and continuous integration

    Our client lacked a centralized repository for version control and streamlined CI/CD pipelines. As a solution, our project team initiated a transition to Bitbucket, conducted training sessions on GitHub beforehand, and implemented Jenkins.

    Testing and security scans

    The team implemented tools for monitoring software vulnerabilities and maintaining effortless product quality.

    TEST IT for a range of testing functionalities: manual and automated testing, autotest integrations, extended public APIs, test libraries, user-friendly test script editors, version control, and historical data management.
    Black Duck for adherence to security protocols and SonarQube to maintain code quality and cleanliness.

    Deployment, configuration, and artifact management

    Our expert team ensured the automation of deployments with DevOps practices removing previous roadblocks.

    Bamboo — core tool for deployment and configuration. It enabled seamless integration with existing systems.
    Infrastructure as Code (IaC) principles for managing deployments
    Terraform for overseeing cloud environments
    Ansible for configuring virtual machines
    Packer for images preparation and unification
    Nexus Repository Pro for efficient handling of large volumes of product and development data.

    Monitoring and logging

    Our team prioritized monitoring and analyzing events with various tools for better reliability, performance, and security of the software system.

    Zabbix — to oversee physical hardware and communication channels and generate visual representations of the infrastructure’s condition.

    Logstash, Elasticsearch, and Kibana — to gather, store and analyze logs and product metrics.

    Grafana and Loki — to deliver up-to-date insights into developing applications and maintain ongoing monitoring.ur team prioritized monitoring and analyzing events with various tools for better reliability, performance, and security of the software system.

    Additionally, the team integrated the tool with messengers for alerts and notifications with the system’s current status and progress.

    Orchestration

    Kubernetes and VMware Tanzu were implemented to host and orchestrate containerized applications on virtual machines and physical hosts.
    This helped the team achieve centralized management, high availability, and level of performance. Additionally, these tools provide independence from cloud platforms and secure backup and recovery.

    Infrastructure

    Our experts applied hybrid cloud approaches for accessible and effective infrastructure solutions.

    VMware and Microsoft product stacks — for the private data center infrastructure to ensure the equipment’s fault tolerance
    Microsoft Azure — for hosting Windows applications
    Feedback channels from banking departments and end users — to improve product quality and implement immediate changes.

    Results and business value

    Our experts integrated DevOps strategies and helped to improve the customer’s development processes on different levels.

    Improved communication

    Efficient management

    Faster time-to-market

    10 times shorter mean time to recovery

    99.7% availability

    Effectiveness was considerably enhanced: the solution decreased the risk of flaws, enabled generation of logs, revert changes function, faster product delivery, and more effective planning, testing, and monitoring.

    Benefits for client

    Communication between stakeholders and IT departments was improved, management of digital solutions became efficient and predictable. The customer reached a faster time-to-market for their products.

    The solution boosted the customer’s metrics for critical systems: availability increased from 96% to 99.7%, and the average recovery time was reduced from 5 hours to 30 minutes.

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