Fast analytical defense

Deutsche Kreditbank AG combats fraud and money laundering with SAS^®

The second-largest direct bank in Germany, Deutsche Kreditbank (DKB), relies on online banking for its private customer business. “The expectations of the customers are changing rapidly – they expect service in real time and maximum security,” says Ralf Stracke, Head of Compliance at DKB. “At the same time, they’re open to various types of online transactions.” From a compliance viewpoint, these are important developments, as fraudsters are also adapting to new possibilities and becoming faster.

DKB is known as a bank that makes it rather difficult for fraudsters. “We take great measures to protect our customers from fraudulent transactions and, of course, we will ensure this for the future,” Stracke says.

Not only has DKB gained a complete view of fraud, but now it can detect the most complex fraud scenarios and signals.

Complete fraud management lifecycle

The first decisive argument for SAS was that the SAS platform is able to handle the complete fraud management life cycle. This includes, for example, managing inventory data. Key components of the new infrastructure are the rule development capabilities of SAS, which make the stored system of rules and regulations fully transparent. The SAS case investigation tool further ensures that the processing of possible fraud cases is coordinated seamlessly.

“Everything comes together to guarantee that the number of false positives remains as low as possible,” Stracke says. “Ultimately, we wish to not suspect a single respectable customer.”

The second argument for SAS was its customizability. “SAS isn’t an out-of-the-box solution, and that’s exactly what we wanted,” Stracke says. “With the help of SAS, we can personalize every single screen and every process, thus satisfying the needs of every department involved.”

Speed counts

Another pivotal point of the new platform is the real-time capability. This potential brings so much speed into the process of fraud detection, so it even moves further in the direction of filing applications.

Stracke is convinced that the new, analytical way of combating fraud and money laundering is the only way forward.

“First, DKB has succeeded in offering a particularly high standard of safety combined with fast and innovative customer service. Second, the platform is so effective that the compliance department has ultimately changed from a cost center to a profit center,” Stracke says. “Not only do we secure our customers’ money, we also win their trust. Our new, ultra-modern solution uses an extremely efficient system that not only enables Workplace 4.0 in the area of compliance, but also provides for improved efficiency in many of the bank's units.”