Fintech startup SafeChain on Monday announced a partnership with financial crime compliance and payments solutions company Accuity, to integrate bank data with SafeChain’s wire fraud prevention platform, SafeWire.
“As wire fraud schemes increase in both number and complexity, it is critical for title companies to authenticate and verify every aspect of the wire transaction to ensure consumers’ funds are protected throughout,” said SafeChain CEO and cofounder Tony Franco in a statement.
“The integration between SafeWire and Accuity, the Official Registrar of ABA Routing Numbers, provides additional peace of mind to all parties in a real estate transaction by ensuring the authenticity and accuracy of routing information and adding an additional safeguard against wire fraud.”
When users send wire instructions to SafeWire, Accuity will verify all necessary routing information using its Bankers Almanac Routing and Transit Number File information database, which houses the latest American Bankers Association (ABA) routing codes and automated clearing house (ACH) information for all U.S. banks and credit unions.
Furthermore, when an intermediary institution is needed to complete a transfer, Accuity will automatically gather and verify the intermediary’s routing codes and send them to the title company through SafeWire, which builds title service software.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s latest Internet Crime Report, 9,645 buyers and renters lost more than $56 million due to wire fraud in 2017.
“Wire fraud in real estate transactions is one of the fastest growing cyber crimes in the United States, and the closing process, in particular, requires closer scrutiny of transactions,” said Accuity Senior Director of Product Management Sarkis Akmakjian in a statement.
“Bankers Almanac Routing and Transit Number File significantly reduces operational risk by ensuring the integrity of the payment origination data. We are pleased that SafeChain is working with us to optimize and reinforce the safety of its payments processes.”