Why EWS Created Certos

Why It Matters

By unifying its fraud capabilities under Certos, EWS positions itself to protect the expanding real‑time payments market and mitigate regulatory risk, reinforcing trust for consumers and institutions alike.

Key Takeaways

• Certos rebrands EWS fraud unit, unifying decades of expertise
• Screened $11 trillion in payments, 100 million new accounts last year
• Serves ~2,500 institutions, including all top 20 U.S. banks
• Half of EWS staff now in Certos, highlighting fraud focus
• Regulatory pressure pushes real‑time fraud tools amid FedNow rollout

Pulse Analysis

Early Warning Services’ decision to rename its fraud‑prevention arm Certos signals a strategic pivot back to its foundational mission. The rebrand consolidates a suite of tools that screened $11 trillion in transactions and vetted 100 million new bank and credit‑union accounts in 2023, underscoring the scale of risk management required in today’s digital payments landscape. By placing Certos under a single, recognizable banner, EWS aims to reassure partners and regulators that fraud mitigation is a core, not peripheral, capability.

The payments industry is undergoing a rapid transformation driven by real‑time settlement platforms such as FedNow and the private RTP network. As transaction speeds shrink to seconds, fraudsters adapt with increasingly sophisticated attacks, prompting banks to demand faster, more adaptive detection solutions. Certos’ expanded headcount—nearly half of EWS’s 1,600 employees—reflects this urgency, offering instant‑risk scoring and automated remediation that can keep pace with the velocity of modern payments. The division’s work with roughly 2,500 institutions, including the nation’s 20 biggest banks, positions it as a critical infrastructure layer for the emerging faster‑payments ecosystem.

Regulatory scrutiny adds another layer of complexity. Recent lawsuits from the New York Attorney General and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleged that EWS allowed fraud to proliferate on its Zelle network, resulting in over $1 billion in consumer losses. While those cases have been dismissed, they highlight the high stakes of fraud oversight. By foregrounding Certos, EWS not only addresses operational risk but also signals to lawmakers and the broader market that it is proactively investing in anti‑fraud technology. This approach is likely to bolster confidence among fintech partners, support compliance with evolving payment‑modernization mandates, and ultimately protect the integrity of the U.S. payment system.