How Mastercard A2A Protect Tackles UK APP Fraud Challenge

Salim Secretary, Head of Payment Schemes, Partnerships and Commercial at NatWest, says the bank is “driving innovation and working closely with Mastercard to help our customers”. Salim adds that “this new initiative will help protect customers and merchants”.

How Mastercard AI targets mule accounts

The technical architecture behind A2A Protect addresses the core vulnerabilities that fraudsters exploit. 

Operating as an overlay to existing A2A payment infrastructure, the service can be deployed across different payment initiation mechanisms without requiring banks to overhaul their underlying systems.

The fraud prevention component enhances Mastercard’s existing transaction scoring capabilities while incorporating its Trace solution, which uses AI and network data to identify money laundering activities and flag suspicious “mule” accounts. 

This approach means banks receive both real-time transaction risk assessment and broader network intelligence about fraudulent activity patterns.

Beyond prevention, the service establishes multilateral standards for transaction disputes and fraud cases. Banks can gain access to a uniform procedure for resolving disputes through Mastercard’s centralised platform, which the company claims will reduce both resolution costs and timeframes. 

The framework covers the entire transaction lifecycle, offering customers protection before payments through enhanced fraud detection, during transactions through real-time risk assessment, and after completion through standardised dispute processes.

Initially, A2A Protect focuses on APP fraud before expanding to cover disputes over goods and services, reflecting the most pressing pain points for both banks and consumers.