Image source: Alicia Shapiro
This interview is done in writing and lightly edited for clarity.
At the Humanx Conference, Feedzai has made waves by launching Scam Alert, a generation AI tool that helps consumers detect fraud in real time, and Trust Framework, a five-pillar roadmap for building responsible AI systems for financial services. Behind these launches is Anusha Parisutham, Senior Director of Product Management at Feedzai.
In this written Q&A, we talk to Anusha about the role of generative AI in the fight against fraud, the importance of building trust in AI systems from day one, and the next most exciting trends in fintech.
1. Leading product innovation at Feedzai. Can you explain to us what your role entails and how your team balances the balance between cutting edge technology and responsible AI principles?
“Absolutely, as you gave a great introduction, I am the lead in Feedzai’s risk platform and AI product management. What I really do is to enable financial institutions to work with fraud and protect consumers by providing continuous innovation and intelligent automation with Feedzai’s AI-powered crime management platform.
Also, as you pointed out, we are responsible for ensuring the AI we use. Do so in a responsible, safe and scalable way.
In the second part of the question – how does my team balance the balance between cutting edge technology and responsible AI? I oversimplify the answer: focusing on impact and value-driven. When AI becomes ubiquitous, it’s even more exciting by offering something new and cool. You really need to step back and recognize the value that AI offers to its customers. That’s the problem that we solve and the way we ensure that the solutions we build are done in a responsible way.
In short, it doesn’t build AI for AI, but it builds AI that promotes value for customers and detects and prevents financial crimes in a responsible way. ”
2. One of the major announcements at Humanx was the fraud warning. Please tell us how it works and how it empowers consumers.
“Absolutely. Scar-Alert is FeedZai, a fraud prevention tool recently launched on Humanx. Scar-Alert brings back control to the end consumer. Feedzai allows consumers to control fraud prevention through real-time, actionable advice.
Let’s say I’m on an e-commerce site and the prices are too good to be true, and the seller looks suspicious. I take an image of that list and put it in a scam alert, which gives me a red flag or recommendation based on that image. As a consumer, we provide additional validation before running a transaction.
It also works with phishing emails or SMS messages. Take the image and scan it. That’s what we mean by empowering consumers and breaking the fraud cycle with that source.
Fraud alerts are powered by generation AI and use multimodal, leading language models to analyze the content and context of these images. Product listings, phishing emails, or suspicious SMS. This helps to detect fraud early and enhance clear and actionable feedback to users.
Another advantage is that financial institutions can integrate fraud alerts into their users’ journeys (banking apps), allowing users to see fraud within their existing banking experiences. And that is also an educational tool. It also educates them on what users should be aware of, as it provides recommendations and red flags in a human-readable way. ”
Follow-up: I think this will help everyone, but especially seniors who are not tech-savvy or aware of the latest scams. Was that what you were thinking?
“Absolutely. Older fraud is a big concern. Unfortunately, they were a huge motivation for us. We wanted to create an intuitive, frictionless solution that would not only be effective for users of all ages.
With fraud alerts, all that people have to do is take an image, whether it’s a suspicious online ad or phishing message, the system does the work. There are no complicated processes or technical steps to follow, making it especially useful for those who may find themselves overwhelmed by digital tools.
And I say this – it’s not just seniors. I will benefit from that too! I’m in this industry, but sometimes I re-authenticate certain messages and lists. Scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated and require constant education and support. Scam alerts really help you fill that gap. ”
3. Feedzai has also launched the Trust Framework on Humanx. Can you explain to us what’s included and how it helps us operate responsible AI?
“Absolutely. A trust framework helps to guide businesses to take responsibility for AI practices. The misconception is that incorporating responsible AI practices involves overhead or compromise performance or user experience, but that’s not true.
This framework includes five pillars when developing AI applications: transparency, robustness, bias, security and testing.
Let’s walk each one:
・ tRampelence: Explanational possibilities, no black box model is required. You need to know where your data comes from, how it will be converted, and clearly state that the results are AI-driven.
・ robesity: The model should be reliable and resilient. Test changes in hostile threats, seasonality, and fraud tactics. Continuous monitoring is important.
・ unbiased: Make sure that AI does not discriminate against the outcome. This includes audits starting with representative training data and verifying fairness over time.
・ sEculity: Data privacy and resilience to hostile attacks must be burned in. Secure data processing is essential for mission-critical applications such as financial crime.
・ tESTED: Just because something is cool doesn’t mean you launch it. Test performance, delays, costs and more before you go to the market.
It’s not just a show framework. This includes practical guidance and assessment checklists to help businesses adopt responsible practices effectively. ”
4. Feedzai fights fraud using both predictive and generative AI. How do these innovations improve detection while ensuring a smooth customer experience?
“From a fraud detection perspective – both prediction and generation AI improves performance by stopping more fraud with better accuracy. And accuracy means fewer false positives that allow legitimate transactions to pass without friction.
That’s where frictionless experiences come into play. For real users, fraud analysts are faster to operate, more efficient investigation thanks to human-readable explanations and better visualizations.
As a result, AI not only enhances fraud detection, it also makes it smoother for customers and operations teams. ”
5. What trends in fintech or AI-based fraud prevention are most excited in the future?
“There are so many possibilities at the pace of AI, but if you had to choose three:
Union Learning – This allows institutions to cooperate without sharing raw data. It is ideal for detecting fraud patterns across institutions without violating privacy.
Adaptive, self-learning model – As the scam progresses, the models need to do that too. These can be used continuously to improve and even use synthetic data for hostile testing.
AI-driven orchestration – Imagine integrating insights across the customer’s journey – move, device, behavior, etc. Such orchestrations provide additional protection at any touchpoint. ”
6. What advice would you give to people who are just starting out with AI, especially in fintech or product leadership, to build an impactful ethical system?
“Start with the basics. Identify the right problems to solve and the value to offer to customers. AI tools are currently accessible.
Differentiation comes from customer experience. So stay close to the user. And remember – the trust is the king. From ideas to launch, you need to build trust at every stage of your product journey. You cannot add it at the end. ”
7. And finally, when you leave work, what are your favorite hobbies and activities?
“I love hiking. Where I live, there are only five to six months of seasons a year. Other than that, I do yoga and a lot of reading. I’m also a chef from the garden to the table. We grow our own vegetables.
Anusha, Thank you for sharing your insights into responsible AI, trust in building, product leadership and the future of fraud prevention. It’s exciting to see how Feedzai is helping institutions and consumers stay ahead ethically and effectively.
Editor’s Note: This written interview was conducted by Alicia Shapiro, CMO of Ainews.com. The answers are lightly edited for clarity and readability, while maintaining the original intention and audio of the speaker. Structural format and editing polish were supported by AI assistant ChatGpt. All final editorial decisions were made by Alicia Shapiro.
