In the ever-evolving world of fraud detection, financial institutions face a paradox: the pressing need to innovate and adapt while maintaining the stability of their operations. Fraudsters continuously refine their tactics, pushing banks and financial institutions to develop smarter, more adaptive machine learning (ML) models to stay ahead. But let’s be honest—deploying a new fraud detection model isn’t always smooth sailing.

Imagine this: your fraud team has been working for months on a cutting-edge ML model that promises to drastically improve detection rates. You’re eager to implement it, but one critical question looms: what if it doesn’t work as expected in production? What if it inadvertently introduces errors, disrupts operations, or creates more noise than value? These uncertainties can lead to hesitation, and for good reason. The stakes are high, especially in environments with complex governance frameworks, strict regulatory requirements, and limited room for error.

For years, this balancing act between innovation and operational stability has hindered fraud teams from rapidly adopting new technologies. That’s exactly the challenge BioCatch set out to solve with Next Model Score – a capability designed to give financial institutions the confidence to test new ML models without disruption.

The Challenge: Test new models without the risk

Fraud detection models operate in a high-stakes environment where even minor missteps can have significant consequences. Traditional approaches to model testing often involve deploying new models to subsets of live traffic, requiring teams to monitor performance closely and adjust on the fly. This process is not only resource-intensive but can also expose institutions to potential errors, alert fatigue, or even reputational risks.

This creates a dilemma: innovate cautiously and risk falling behind fraudsters, or move quickly and risk operational chaos. Financial institutions often find themselves caught in this tension, making trade-offs that leave them dissatisfied with either outcome.

BioCatch Next Model Score: A smarter way to innovate

BioCatch’s Next Model Score changes the game by enabling fraud teams to test and validate new ML models in a safe, controlled environment. Here’s how it works.

The Next Model Score allows banks and financial institutions to run a "challenger" model alongside their active production models. This challenger model operates in parallel, generating a separate numerical score that’s returned through BioCatch’s APIs - whether via the getScore API or a Push API notification.

In essence, it’s like having a testing sandbox embedded in your live environment. Fraud teams gain visibility into how a new model performs—its detection accuracy, false positive rates, and overall reliability—without disrupting ongoing operations.

Why this matters

For fraud and compliance teams, the Next Model Score provides several key benefits including:

A low-risk testing ground. Teams can evaluate new models under real-world conditions without operational impact.

Regulatory peace of mind. For banks and financial institutions bound by strict governance frameworks, Next Model Score allows compliance teams to assess and document model performance before full deployment.

Informed decision-making. Fraud teams can confidently assess whether a new model meets their operational and business goals, reducing uncertainty.

How Next Model Score promotes innovation

Here’s what makes Next Model Score a powerful tool for innovation:

Pre-deployment testing: Real-world evaluation of a new model’s effectiveness, running seamlessly alongside existing models.

Dual scoring: Provides both the current production score and the challenger model’s score in API responses.

Controlled testing period: Models can be evaluated over a predefined period, with no risk of interference.

Numerical score simplicity: The additional score is clean and numerical, offering clarity without overwhelming detail.

No additional cost: Next Model Score supports BioCatch Account Takeover, Social Engineering Scam, and Mule Account Detection models and will soon be available for Account Opening models - at no extra cost. For customers of the BioCatch Mule Account Detection solution, this capability is available only for those who receive the mule risk score via API.

Ideal candidates for Next Model Score

Targeted specifically for governance and rule-heavy customers, BioCatch's Next Model Score is ideal for organizations with complex rule sets or strict model governance requirements. This capability allows these institutions to thoroughly evaluate new models' performance in a controlled environment before full deployment, ensuring compliance and mitigating risk.

Empowering innovation without disruption

Next Model Score empowers financial institutions to embrace innovation without hesitation. By providing a safe, seamless way to test new fraud detection models, this capability helps fraud teams confidently adopt the latest technologies while maintaining the integrity of their operations.

Fraud detection is an arms race. With Next Model Score, banks and financial institutions can ensure they’re always one step ahead - refining their defenses, staying compliant, and protecting customers from emerging threats without missing a beat.

Learn more

To learn more about BioCatch’s Next Model Score, please reach out to your account executive and/or engagement manager.

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