How retailers can secure their financial operations from payment fraud
– Dory Malouf, Senior Director, Global Value Engineering, Kyriba
For Treasurers and CFOs, the challenge is not just “stopping hackers” but building a financial fortress that can withstand the “holiday vulnerability window” and sophisticated AI-driven attacks. Retail has become more digital and connected to accommodate the surge in e-commerce and digital payments. With that, the risks and illicit activities have also evolved and have become so much more sophisticated that they’re harder to recognise. Fraud is no longer limited to point-of-sale transactions. Instead, it can now be found across supplier payments, data exchanges, and networks that move cash and information between systems.
As transactions rise during seasonal events such as Black Friday or Cyber Monday, the combination of higher payment volumes and rapid real-time processing can make retailers more vulnerable to fraud. There is the added risk of seasonal employees, where a rapid rise in workforce can create opportunities for physical manipulation of payroll, beneficiary data, and more. It is therefore more critical than ever that retailers and specifically their treasury and finance teams to adopt technology that offers clear visibility into all cash movements, reduces errors, and applies real-time intelligence to identify and prevent fraud before it even occurs.
Evolving Payment Fraud Risks
Payment fraud has always troubled retailers, but email compromises and supplier impersonations are emerging as significant risks. Fraudsters manipulate supplier data or redirect payments, changing account information within enterprise systems. Not only that, but the surge of deepfake technology adds another layer of risk, where realistic audio or video is used to imitate executives or authorise transfers. Such attacks often bypass traditional security checks, targeting the treasury or finance function.
With Christmas fast approaching, retailers will be particularly vulnerable as transaction volume will rise, and there will be heavier approval workloads, which may increase the risk of fraud.
Fraud can slip into legitimate payment batches or vendor updates, which in consequence disrupts supply chains and damages suppliers’ trust. The financial implications can be detrimental, while the longer-term effects include regulatory fines and weakened liquidity control. This means treasury and finance teams need systems that are reliable, secure, but also fast and flexible.
Safe Payments with AI and Real-Time Data
The good news is that advanced technology is able to address the above concerns and efficiently tackle payment fraud. Take artificial intelligence (AI), for example. AI is capable of continuously monitoring transactions, comparing them against historical patterns and predictive models, and quarantining suspicious transactions for human oversight. This allows the teams to quickly spot potential irregularities early on, such as anomalous changes in payment frequency, unexpected beneficiary details, or unusual authorisation timings, all while improving accuracy over time and reducing false alerts.
Additionally, the technology can strengthen payment workflows. Streamlining checks of supplier banking details keeps approvals aligned with normal activity. In deepfake cases, although they may seem scarier, there are intelligent tools available that can detect discrepancies that human reviewers might miss. This helps retailers anticipate fraud rather than simply react after losses occur.
Another important way to proactively spot anomalies in payments is by keeping data connected across banks, regions, and systems. With the change in workforce during the high-volume season, retailers should also consider increasing visibility into bank account management and establishing signing authority, which digital solutions can also control and validate. Real-time insight into cash positions and payment movements helps treasury teams authorise instructions and reduce exposure to fraudulent activities. Sharing analytics on a unified platform also allows stakeholders to identify threats collectively, apply consistent controls, and address suspicious activities faster.
Creating a Resilient Environment
While adopting the right technology is crucial, resilience also depends on good governance and a strong team culture. To ensure robust governance, employees need to go through vigilant checks before changing payment details or approving funds. It’s also equally important to keep supplier records up-to-date and make sure there’s clear responsibility for updates, which in turn helps reduce the risk of errors or manipulation.
Integrating AI and analytics into the heart of treasury and finance operations allows teams to keep improving. Each verified transaction supports the system’s intelligence, making it easier to predict threats and adjust accordingly as risks change. Over time, this builds a treasury function that is secure and efficient, providing the foundation for more effective financial management. As a result, retailers gain clearer insights into cash, stronger supplier relationships, and fewer financial disruptions.
Fraud prevention is no longer seen as just a protective layer; it’s now a key part of maintaining resilience. Intelligent and real-time insights support business growth and value creation rather than simply taking care of financial and reputational loss.
Protecting Retail’s Financial Core
Move to daily cash positioning. If you don’t know where your cash is every morning, you won’t know if it’s missing until it’s too late. As retail becomes more digital, managing payments and payment fraud has become more complex. Transactions are moving across multiple systems and regions, which increases the risk of illicit activities. AI, together with connected data and automated control, allows retailers to identify such suspicious movements and address threats before they even occur.
By bringing together people, processes, and technology with real-time monitoring, teams can remain in control, strengthen their financial operations, and run them more smoothly and efficiently. Leveraging AI and real-time data in day-to-day finance operations, retailers can protect liquidity and position fraud prevention as a strategic advantage that reinforces trust across the entire value chain
