Nigeria-based identity verification startup, Prembly, has launched an open fraud-intelligence database aimed at helping banks, fintechs and online platforms detect scams earlier as digital financial services spread across Africa.
- •The platform, called FraudLens, aggregates fraud incidents identified through Prembly’s identity-verification systems and organizes them into a publicly accessible repository designed to reveal recurring fraud patterns across institutions.
- •Built from millions of identity checks processed through the company’s verification tools, the database compiles incidents reported by businesses using Prembly’s infrastructure and applies behavioural and forensic analysis to identify common techniques used by fraudsters.
- •Founded in 2021, Prembly provides identity verification, background checks and compliance tools used by digital businesses across Africa and international markets.
“Data sharing is the first step toward meaningful fraud prevention. Fraudsters often recycle the same tactics across different platforms. By pooling intelligence, we can stop them from exploiting these gaps,” said Lanre Ogungbe, CEO of Prembly.
Financial institutions and fintech companies can use the platform to identify suspected bad actors and emerging fraud techniques reported across a network of organizations using Prembly’s technology.
As digital finance expands across sub-Saharan Africa, about 60% of adults now hold financial accounts, up from less than 40% a decade ago, fueling mobile banking and fintech growth while creating new vulnerabilities in digital identity and payments systems.
Financial crime is estimated to cost Africa about US$10 billion annually, according to Optimus AI Labs. Fraud has mutated with increasingly sophisticated schemes including synthetic identities and AI-assisted social-engineering attacks.
The launch of FraudLens marks the company’s first attempt to create a continent-wide fraud intelligence repository as financial institutions seek stronger defenses against rising digital crime.
