Global verification and fraud prevention company Sumsub introduced a fraud management bundle to help banks and financial institutions in the Philippines comply with the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA), which takes full effect on June 25, 2026.
The AFASA Fraud Management Bundle combines rule-based fraud detection, transaction monitoring, and dynamic risk scoring to help institutions identify suspicious activities and respond in real time before transactions are completed or settled.
“The regulatory environment in the Philippines is evolving quickly, with clearer expectations on how institutions should detect, assess, and respond to suspicious activity,” said Penny Chai, vice president, APAC at Sumsub.
The rollout comes as Philippine financial institutions face tighter regulatory requirements and a growing wave of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven fraud attacks, including deepfakes, account takeovers, and coordinated scam operations.
Under AFASA, banks and financial institutions are required to strengthen fraud management systems, customer authentication, transaction monitoring, and fund recovery processes to protect consumers from scams and online fraud.
Sumsub said its Identity Fraud Report 2025-2026 recorded a 180% year-on-year increase globally in complex, AI-assisted fraud attacks. In the Philippines, deepfake fraud incidents grew 61% in 2025, among the highest growth rates in Southeast Asia.
“By combining rule-based actions with aggregated risk scoring in a hybrid model, the AFASA Fraud Management Bundle allows institutions to intervene immediately in clear fraud cases while applying more gradual, risk-based assessment across different transaction types and customer profiles, so compliance teams can focus on the highest-risk activity for timely intervention and escalation,” Chai said.
At the center of the offering is a hybrid transaction monitoring system that uses multiple fraud detection layers. The platform applies direct-action rules to known fraud indicators such as blacklist matches, bot activity, abnormal device access, and suspicious login behavior. Transactions flagged as high risk can be rejected automatically or temporarily placed on hold.
A separate risk-scoring engine evaluates behavioral anomalies, unusual transaction patterns, and contextual inconsistencies to determine whether additional verification or manual review is needed.
Sumsub said the platform allows financial institutions to configure thresholds, action logic, and decision workflows based on their internal policies, customer segments, and risk appetite.
The company added that the fraud management bundle integrates with its Device Intelligence, Case Management, and Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Business (KYB) systems to provide fraud detection and investigation capabilities.
The launch shows the increasing pressure on Philippine banks, e-wallet providers, and digital financial platforms to improve fraud controls as digital transactions continue to grow. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has repeatedly warned consumers and financial institutions about increasing phishing, social engineering, and identity fraud cases linked to digital banking and e-wallet services.