Matrix-IFS: Protecting Financial Institutions from Hackers, Fraudsters and Money Launderers

With millions of accounts containing people’s life savings, security has always been one of the largest concerns for financial institutions and their customers. As cybercriminals become more sophisticated in their hacking techniques, institutions should adopt more advanced cybersecurity and fraud prevention systems. Although new technologies provide more advanced security options, knowing which ones to use and how to implement them is a challenge many institutions face today.
As a global leader in financial crime and compliance consulting and services, Matrix International Financial Services (Matrix-IFS) places the safety, privacy, and security of financial institutions and their customers above all. Led by Chief Executive Officer, Renan Levy, Matrix-IFS provides bespoke solutions that address emerging threats to companies in the financial sector.
About Matrix-IFS 
Matrix-IFS was founded in 2006, due to the growing need for tailor-made, cost-effective services in financial crime domains – risk management, Anti-money Laundering (AML) and fraud prevention.
“For the past thirteen years, the IT financial crime space has been exploding as regulations become more demanding, and technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning continue to improve. The risk of being a target of illegal activities is only increasing, requiring the banks and other financial institutions to adopt various solutions to protect themselves from different types of attacks. Matrix-IFS was founded for this particular reason, to help our clients address these issues by providing domain and IT expertise by highly qualified and experienced financial crime specialists.”, Renan commented on the landscape of financial crime.
Having the Customers’ Best Interests at Heart 
Renan adds, “As a leading advisory firm, we strive to deliver only the best-suited solutions for our clients. We develop customized solutions jointly after a careful examination of the requirements, existing technologies, and processes. One shoe does not fit all.”
 Since Matrix-IFS is vendor agnostic, it can offer its customers “best of breed” solutions, meaning that the company’s experts combine different technologies to offer the most efficient financial crime ecosystem. For example, whereas some vendors have strong AML systems, they may lack a good data quality or a fraud prevention solution.
When asked about implementing cutting-edge technologies, Renan responded, “A robust AML or fraud prevention program requires a deep understanding of the data, relevant analytics, and the effective application of innovative technologies and processes, to name a few: Machine Learning, AI, and Robotic Process Automation (RPA).
Renan also states that one of the main challenges faced by the market today is addressing high volumes of false positive alerts generated by transaction monitoring systems. This inherently wastes a great deal of time and money due to inaccurate results that can lead to missing bonafide alerts and causing high rates of customer frustration. Matrix-IFS’ experts have developed methodologies to optimize AML/fraud prevention systems and models to reduce the false-positive ratio, freeing up investigators’ time to handle real threats. One method of making the process more efficient and cost-effective is through RPA, which automates manual and repetitive tasks, reducing overhead and increasing accuracy.
Addressing Client Vulnerabilities
Many vendors in the market try to address the issues of fraud and cybersecurity. Most address 80% to 85% of the client’s security issues. Matrix-IFS uses penetration testing to assess the institution’s vulnerability. This methodology takes a bird’s-eye view, looking at the whole picture rather than only the mainstream.
Stepping into the Shoes of the Leader
Boasting a proven track record of building and running several successful companies in the fields of technology, banking, business, and consumer services, six years ago Renan took on the role as Matrix-IFS’ CEO. Since then, he has grown the company’s footprint from a single office in NJ to a global network of offices. Under his leadership, the company’s offerings have expanded while not compromising on quality and innovation.
A Step Ahead of the Competition
According to Renan, “What sets Matrix-IFS apart from other consulting firms is our domain and technology expertise, which derive from years of experience providing risk management and financial crime prevention solutions solely to the financial sector and, by doing so, honing our craft. No one is as focused or has as many successful advisory and implementations projects in the fraud prevention and AML space under their belts as we do.”
He continued to say, “Our number-one value is the client’s success; it drives the company forward to deliver tangible, measurable results. This kind of customer-centric culture across the entire company is what drives us. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing our clients return to us time and time again over the space of two decades.”
A Glimpse at Matrix-IFS’s Future 
Renan aspires to bring even more value to his clients by developing impenetrable new services, including cybersecurity offerings, top-of-the-line cloud services, and trustworthy data quality solutions. He envisions that the company will expand into new territories – growing Matrix-IFS’ offerings within the financial sector and beyond.