For years, malware and digital fraud have been rising across all areas of business, with corporate payments one of the prime targets of cyber criminals. Inefficient processes built around paper checks or card payments often leave these funds flows vulnerable. New digital and accelerated means of payment entail the added risk that a payment might be routed correctly by staff but subsequently intercepted along the way.

There are many avenues for perpetrating payment fraud these days. Bad actors may impersonate company executives in business email compromise (BEC) schemes, trying to convince employees that the CFO or CEO needs a one-off payment to be made immediately, no questions asked. Or they may impersonate a supplier, requesting a change in the vendor or payment information. They may hack into the corporate network, infiltrate remote users' connections, or breach web-based systems.

Businesses are using dual authentication methods, human callbacks for changes to payment instructions, and an assortment of technology solutions to improve the chances that they will catch any attempted fraud, but staying a step ahead of attackers is a race without a finish line. As a Treasury & Risk contributor commented about the FedNow Instant Payments service, which is due to launch in July: