A flood of AI deepfakes challenges the financial sector, with over 70% of new enrolments to some firms being fake
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While AI presents an opportunity for financial firms like Ant International, it also poses risks.
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3 min read
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financial news
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August 13, 2025
07:05 AM
Fortune
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AI·Artificial IntelligenceA flood of AI deepfakes challenges the financial sector, with over 70% of new enrolments to some firms being fakeBy Lionel LimBy Lionel LimAsia ReporterLionel LimAsia ReporterLionel Lim is a Singapore-based reporter covering the Asia-Pacific region.SEE FULL BIO Zhang Tianyi, a general manager of risk management and cybersecurity at Ant International, speaking at a partner conference in Hong Kong on April 30, 2025.Courtesy of Ant InternationalFinancial institutions are championing the use of artificial intelligence, arguing the new nology can rapidly accelerate tasks “know-your-customer” checks, customer onboarding, and document cessing
Advancements these can drive customer acquisition and boost employee ductivity, all good for the bottom line. “AI has been a game-changer in how we vide international payment and financial services
In 2024, we cessed more than $1 trillion in global transactions, all supported by AI,” says Tianyi Zhang, a general manager of risk management and cybersecurity at Singapore-based Ant International
Yet while AI presents an opportunity for financial firms Ant International, it also poses risks
Bad actors can exploit AI advancements to intensify the threat of scams and fraud against both clients and financial institutions
Zhang, in particular, is worried deepfakes, “perhaps the most well-known examples of AI-generated risks.” “In some , we have found that more than 70% of new enrolments may be deepfake attempts,” he notes. “We’ve identified more than 150 types of deepfake attacks.” Last year, Microsoft warned that AI-generated deepfakes are now highly realistic and increasingly simple for anyone to duce
The company flagged that deepfakes were now increasingly being used in fraud, and called for new legislation to curb bad actors from using these nologies
Deepfakes can be a challenge for financial institutions Ant International, which need trusted identities to be able to carry out know-your-customer checks to comply with anti-fraud and anti-money laundering legislation
For example, cybersecurity experts say that North Korean IT workers use deepfaked identities to get jobs at leading firms and funnel earnings back to the isolated country. ‘Enhanced security’ Ant International is the international wing of Ant Group, the fin affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba and operator of the ubiquitous Alipay payments app
In 2024, Ant Group set up Ant International as an independent unit with its own board
Ant International operates Alipay+, Antom, Bettr, and WorldFirst, and is present in more than 60 globally
The company facilitates services payments, cross-border transactions, and lending
Zhang said AI helps Ant International der “greater efficiency” and “enhanced security” to its 100 million merchant customers worldwide, most of which are small and medium enterprises
To combat new threats from AI, Ant International is focusing on three areas: in security and AI, building expertise and fin-specific knowledge banks, and expanding its -to- AI ducts
Zhang points to Alipay+’s GenAI Cockpit Platform, which gives fin firms, banks and superapps real-time risk assessment, among other services
Ant International claims the platform combats hallucinations and other data risks by using over 100 recognition models and 600,000 risk lexicons
Ant International is also gearing up to launch EasySafePay 360, an account tection gram for Alipay+, in the coming months
This platform will leverage AI to manage risk and safeguard transactions, as well as offer a money-back guarantee for transactions deemed to be unauthorized
The company hopes the platform will facilitate the growing number of cross-border payments, spurred by global travel
Ant International, citing external re, estimates that the gross cross-border travel services market could reach $1.8 trillion by 2028.
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