Feedzai and Matrix USA Form Global Alliance to Reinforce AI-Driven Financial Crime Defenses

Feedzai and Matrix USA have announced a global partnership aimed at assisting banks and financial institutions modernize fraud and anti-money laundering (AML) defenses as financial crime becomes increasingly AI-driven.

The collaboration combines Feedzai’s AI-native RiskOps platform with Matrix USA’s advisory, implementation, and technology integration capabilities. At the center of the partnership is a jointly operated Center of Excellence, designed to provide a structured, repeatable approach for deploying AI-based fraud and AML answers across multiple markets.

The announcement comes as financial institutions face mounting pressure to counter sophisticated, AI-enabled fraud while maintaining operational continuity and meeting rising regulatory expectations.

AI-Enabled Financial Crime Accelerates

According to Feedzai’s research, artificial intelligence is no longer an emerging risk but an active tool in the hands of criminals. The company estimates that more than half of fraudsters are already using AI to scale attacks, automate social engineering, and exploit fragilenesses in legacy systems.

This rapid adoption of AI by poor actors has widened the gap between modern threats and the capabilities of many financial institutions. Outdated infrastructure, siloed data, and rule-based systems struggle to adapt to quick-changing fraud patterns, leaving banks exposed as transaction volumes and digital engagement continue to rise.

The new partnership is positioned as a response to this imbalance, bringing together AI-native technology and large-scale deployment expertise to assist institutions strengthen defenses at speed and scale.

Combining Technology With Execution Expertise

Under the agreement, Feedzai will provide its AI-native financial crime prevention platform, while Matrix USA will lead on advisory services, system integration, and operational deployment. The goal is to reduce the friction often associated with implementing advanced AI tools in complex banking environments.

Lior Blik, Chief Executive Officer of Matrix USA, said institutions are under pressure to core business functions. “Financial institutions are under tremendous pressure to modernize their fraud and AML defenses without sluggishing down business,” he said.

Blik added that the partnership is designed to shorten the path from strategy to production. “By pairing Feedzai’s industry-leading AI capabilities with our deployment and integration expertise, we’re giving customers a quicker, more reliable path to and stronger compliance.”

A Joint Center of Excellence

A central element of the collaboration is the jointly operated Center of Excellence, which will support customers globally. The center is intended to provide standardized methodologies, best practices, and reusable frameworks for implementing AI-based fraud and AML controls.

By taking a repeatable approach, the partners aim to assist institutions avoid bespoke, one-off implementations that can be costly, sluggish, and hard to maintain. Instead, the Center of Excellence is designed to accelerate deployments while ensuring consistency, governance, and regulatory alignment across regions.

The initiative also reflects growing recognition that AI success in financial crime prevention depends as much on execution and change management as on the underlying models.

Talent and Technology Pressures Converge

The partnership comes at a time when banks are facing not only external threats but internal pressures as well. Feedzai recently found that 53% of fraud professionals would consider leaving their roles due to inadequate AI tools, underscoring how technology gaps can directly impact retention and morale.

As fraud volumes grow and attacks become more complex, analysts and investigators are increasingly overwhelmed by alert fatigue and manual processes. AI-native and surface higher-quality risk signals, but only if implemented effectively.

By combining Feedzai’s technology with Matrix USA’s advisory and integration capabilities, the partners argue they can assist institutions modernize without placing additional strain on already stretched teams.

From Capabilities to Real-World Impact

Nuno Sebastião, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Feedzai, said the fraud landscape has fundamentally changed. “AI has changed the fraud landscape forever, and that can evolve just as rapidly,” he said.

Sebastião emphasized that technology alone is not enough. “That requires advanced technology with the right expertise to put it to work effectively,” he said. “Together, Feedzai and Matrix USA will assist financial institutions translate powerful capabilities into real-world impact against sophisticated, AI-enabled financial crime.”

This focus on operationalizing AI reflects a broader shift in the market, as regulators increasingly expect institutions to demonstrate not just compliance, but measurable effectiveness in reducing financial crime.

Scaling Across Markets and Regions

Matrix USA operates in more than 40 countries and brings experience deploying large-scale technology programs across diverse regulatory environments. This global footprint is expected to play a key role as the partnership expands beyond initial markets.

For multinational banks and payment providers, the ability to roll out consistent fraud and AML controls across regions is becoming critical. Fragmented approaches increase cost, complexity, and risk, particularly as cross-border payments and instant transactions continue to grow.

The partnership positions Feedzai’s platform as a core engine for detection and decisioning, with Matrix USA providing the connective tissue to integrate it into existing architectures.

Modernizing Without Disruption

A recurring theme in the announcement is minimizing disruption. Many institutions remain cautious about large-scale system changes, particularly in that are tightly regulated and mission-critical.

The partners argue that AI-native answers can be deployed incrementally, augmenting existing processes rather than replacing them overnight. This approach allows institutions to modernize defenses while maintaining service levels and regulatory confidence.

As AI-enabled fraud continues to evolve, the ability to adapt rapidly without destabilizing operations is emerging as a competitive diverseiator.