Juniper Payments, a Velera company, has launched an embedded artificial intelligence (AI)-powered fraud prevention engine within its Payments Hub platform, aiming to support the broader adoption of instant payments among credit unions and other financial institutions.
Announced during the VeleraLIVE conference in Denver on Wednesday, the new fraud detection and risk-scoring system is designed to address rapidly evolving threats such as synthetic identities, phishing schemes and AI-generated fraud. The technology enables real-time risk evaluation at the point of origination and processing, helping credit unions confidently expand from receive-only status to fully enabled send capabilities for payment rails like FedNow and RTP.
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“The fraud landscape is rapidly evolving, with bad actors leveraging automation, generative AI, synthetic identities and phishing schemes at scale,” Jon Budd, CEO of Juniper Payments, said. “Traditional defenses won’t keep up. With our embedded AI fraud engine, we’re enabling real-time detection and decisioning.”
The solution also added risk scoring for traditional payment types, including wires, with future support planned for ACH and cross-border payments. A case study showed a 73% overall reduction in fraud, with a 90% drop in both account takeovers and false positives.
“This is more than just fraud protection – it’s a catalyst for progress,” Budd added. “Many financial institutions have been hesitant to flip the switch on full instant payment functionality. Our new solution provides the assurance they need to move forward with confidence.”
Serving over 3,000 financial institutions nationwide, Juniper’s cloud-based Payments Hub streamlines processing and reporting while improving cash flow visibility for consumers and businesses. The AI enhancements represent a strategic investment to empower credit unions with advanced fraud tools while ensuring competitive parity in a fast-moving digital payments landscape.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
