Pega Financial Crime and Alert Investigation Management: A Smarter Approach to Compliance and Risk Mitigation

Financial crime is evolving—faster, more sophisticated, and increasingly tech-driven. In 2023 alone, an estimated $3.1 trillion in illicit funds circulated worldwide, with $485.6 billion lost to fraud scams and bank fraud schemes. As threats grow, financial institutions face mounting pressure to stay compliant while stopping criminals in their tracks.

But there’s a major challenge: traditional fraud detection systems generate too many false positives, wasting time and resources while real threats slip through.

There’s a smarter way.

The Growing Challenge of Financial Crime

Criminals are using advanced tactics—AI-driven fraud, deepfake scams, and cryptocurrency laundering—to bypass traditional monitoring. However, financial institutions struggle with outdated compliance and fraud detection approaches that create inefficiencies and gaps in risk oversight:

• Fragmented Systems: Fraud detection, AML, KYC, and financial crime compliance often operate separately, leading to blind spots in investigations.
• High False Positives & Costs: Traditional rule-based systems generate excessive false positives (up to 95%), increasing operational costs and investigator workload.
• Manual Processes & Duplication: Siloed systems require extensive manual work, slowing down response times and increasing errors.
• Regulatory Complexity: New financial crime regulations emerge rapidly, making it difficult for organizations to stay compliant across jurisdictions.

Financial institutions need a unified, AI-driven approach that integrates fraud detection, compliance, and risk management into a single intelligent system.

How Pega Transforms Financial Crime Management

Pega’s AI-powered Alert and Investigation Management for Financial Crime provides a globally scalable, unified, and automated approach to fraud detection and compliance. Here’s how it makes a difference:

Maximize Accuracy with AI-Powered Risk Decisioning

• AI and machine learning analyze transactions in real time, detecting anomalies and assigning risk scores.
• False positives drop, allowing investigators to focus on real threats instead of chasing harmless transactions.
• Seamless alert intake across systems, including AML, fraud, sanctions, adverse media, and PEP screening.
• Eliminate subjectivity in decision-making with comprehensive customer risk oversight.

Integrated Case Management: Faster, More Accurate Investigations

• A centralized system consolidates alerts from multiple detection sources, automates manual tasks, and improves risk visibility.
• Investigators get real-time collaboration tools, audit trails, and automated workflows for quick resolutions.
• Skills-based routing ensures the right analyst handles each case, improving efficiency and accuracy.

Streamline Workflow, Data Enrichment, and Audits

• Automate investigative research processes by bringing together internal and external data.
• Reduce downtime with prompt alert gathering and intelligent case assignment.
• Propel straight-through processing by integrating smart technologies like AI, ML, OCR, NLP, and RPA.
• Automate third-party data retrieval so investigators can focus on risk assessment.
• Boost teamwork with dynamic, contextual collaboration using a unified case management tool.

Enhance Compliance and Respond to Change Rapidly

• Ensure regulatory adherence to AML, KYC, FATF, and evolving compliance requirements across jurisdictions.
• Leverage built-in compliance frameworks to enforce best practices, policies, and risk-based (RBA) and outcome-based (OBA) approaches.
• Automate SAR filing, escalate cases to FIUs, and initiate full KYC reviews or client offboarding.
• Track and optimize activities for transparency and auditability.

Effortless Integration & Interoperability

• Pega offers 100% interoperability with Pega Client Lifecycle Management (CLM) and KYC.
• Fast-track rollout with Pega’s low-code approach and iterative cycles.
• Seamlessly integrate with multiple vendors using Pega’s pre-built connectors and existing vendor connections.

The Impact of Smarter Financial Crime Management

Banks and financial institutions worldwide are already seeing transformative results with AI-driven fraud detection and compliance. By leveraging Pega’s advanced capabilities, organizations are achieving measurable improvements in efficiency and accuracy:

Key Performance Metrics:

• 78% of exceptions resolved via straight-through processing (STP).
• 30% of cases resolved on the same day.
• 50% increase in operational efficiency, even with increasing alert volumes.
• 70% reduction in the average number of manual touches.
• 75% reduction in investigation time for financial crime cases.

Final Thoughts: A Smarter Way to Fight Financial Crime

Financial institutions need an intelligent, adaptable, and proactive approach to financial crime management. Pega delivers exactly that—AI, automation, and dynamic case management working together to enhance security, improve compliance, and drive efficiency.

Ready to transform your fraud investigation process?

Connect with Instellars today and unlock the full potential of Pega’s Financial Crime and Alert Investigation Management.