Macquarie Bank (Macquarie) has joined BioCatch Trust™ Australia, the world’s first inter-bank, behaviour- and device-based, real-time fraud and scams intelligence-sharing network. Launched in November of 2024 with five inaugural members — Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), National Australia Bank (NAB), Suncorp Bank (Norfina Limited), and Westpac — the network enables member banks to assess risk on the receiving end of transactions before any money leaves the sender’s account.
In its first 10 months, Trust Australia evaluated $500 billion in total payments and saved customers at member banks millions of dollars in potential losses. The addition of Macquarie, Australia’s fifth-largest bank, further amplifies the power of the network as it collaborates to detect and prevent financial crime.
“As global fraud and scam activity becomes more sophisticated, we’ve continued to invest in our digital security and tools,” Macquarie Bank Head of Client Protection David Sheehan said. “We know that security and trust are paramount for our customers, so we look forward to working with BioCatch Trust™ Australia to add another layer of security protection for Australians.
“As new technology becomes available, customer vigilance is still a key part of scam- and fraud-prevention, and it’s always been our view that it’s important that a broad range of impacted sectors take a collaborative, multi-sector approach when tackling scams and fraud. We think Trust Australia is a great example of bank collaboration in action,” Sheehan said.
“Joining the Trust network was a natural next step in our broader scam-prevention initiatives including real-time payment controls, behavioral biometrics, and our standalone two-factor authentication app, Macquarie Authenticator.”
BioCatch Trust™ adds an additional layer of behavioural- and device-based protection against fraud and scams for customers at Macquarie and other member banks, by assessing in real time the potential risks associated with the accounts to which customers direct their domestic online payments within BioCatch Trust™ Australia. If the network identifies risks associated with a receiving account, BioCatch provides this intelligence to the sending bank in real time, allowing the sending institution to review the transaction before any money leaves the sender’s account. This helps financial institutions prevent those types of scams where the fraudster manipulates the victim outside of a digital banking session (many scams originate via an email, text message, phone call or social media post). BioCatch Trust™ accomplishes this while utilising proven pseudonymisation technology to help protect the identities of those customers within the BioCatch Trust™ network.
“We’re proud to welcome Macquarie Bank to BioCatch Trust™ Australia,” BioCatch CEO Gadi Mazor said. “Its commitment to innovation and customer protection strengthens our shared mission to disrupt scam operations and protect Australians from financial harm. The addition of Macquarie means Trust Australia now protects more than 85% of the country’s online banking population.”
The strength of the BioCatch Trust™ Australia network improves with each new financial institution that joins. As more banks contribute account intelligence, the system grows smarter and more effective, offering deeper insights and broader coverage. This collective intelligence helps to protect against existing, unknown, and emerging threats, significantly enhancing fraud detection across the entire Australian banking ecosystem.
