New research reveals fraud is hiding within trusted patterns as ACH fraud accelerates at nearly five times the payment growth rate
NICE Actimize, a NICE business, has released the “2026 NICE Actimize Fraud Insights Report, U.S. Payment Fraud Edition,” spotlighting a pivotal shift in digital fraud: criminals are increasingly succeeding by blending into the very signals financial institutions have long trusted. Based on billions of transactions analyzed, the report shows why established detection strategies are reaching a turning point—and why financial institutions must rethink how they find and stop fraud before losses accelerate.
Read More on Fintech : Global Fintech Interview with Baran Ozkan, co-founder & CEO of Flagright
For years, digital fraud detection relied on two foundational signals: device risk and unfamiliar payees. Both are now eroding simultaneously. The primary driver is the rise of scam typologies that manipulate customers into authorizing payments themselves on their own devices, bypassing device-risk controls. Account takeover through session and credential compromise contributes further, particularly on web channels.
The report finds that detection strategies built on identifying new devices or newly introduced payees are losing predictive strength as a result. The report’s most urgent data point concerns ACH. Attempted ACH fraud value grew 52% in 2025 while total ACH payment value grew just 11%, a nearly 5-to-1 divergence. The average fraud attempt on the rail now exceeds the average payment value. Without targeted controls, the report warns that ACH could shift from secondary exposure to a primary risk vector.
“What makes the 2026 findings particularly significant is that fraud is not just growing. It is adapting specifically to defeat the controls financial institutions have invested in,” said Craig Costigan, CEO, NICE Actimize. “The institutions that will manage this environment successfully are those willing to challenge legacy assumptions, recalibrate their detection models and look beyond their own data.”
Additional findings within the report cover diverging fraud dynamics across domestic and international wires, P2P channels and check fraud. Domestic wire loss exposure is rising per transaction even as fraud rates hold steady. The report also finds that a single low-cost device model drove 3% of all mobile account takeover attempts. Finally, the report notes that web and mobile P2P fraud now require completely different detection strategies.
Addressing the challenges uncovered in the report, the Actimize Insights Network helps financial institutions address advanced digital fraud by providing the scale and precision needed to prevent losses before money moves, while supporting governance. Because criminals operate across institutions, financial institutions need intelligence beyond their own data. The Actimize Insights Network enables secure collaboration across institutions while maintaining the highest standards of data protection, privacy and regulatory compliance.
Catch more Fintech Insights : Real-Time Payments and the Redefinition Of Global Liquidity
[To share your insights with us, please write to psen@itechseries.com ]
