Mashreq Strengthens Fraud Risk Management with New Clari5 Generative AI Integration

Mashreq has integrated generative AI into its fraud detection platform in partnership with Clari5, a Perfios company. The deployment aims to enhance investigative speed and precision within the bank’s MENA operations, addressing the rising complexity of financial crime by augmenting human judgment with automated data synthesis and auditable, on-premises AI governance.

What was announced

Mashreq launched new generative AI capabilities within its existing fraud platform, developed through an ongoing collaboration with Clari5. The announcement took place at Mashreq’s Innovation Hub in Dubai, attended by senior leadership from both organizations. The technology focuses on three priority areas: increasing the effectiveness of fraud detection, boosting the productivity of fraud analysts, and providing better data support for investigative decisions.

Unlike fully autonomous systems, this implementation is designed to complement the expertise of fraud professionals rather than replace their judgment. It operates on-premises within Mashreq’s own environment, ensuring the AI remains auditable, explainable, and grounded in the bank’s specific context. By operating under the bank's own rules, the system aims to deliver a more seamless customer experience through faster and more consistent detection of suspicious activity. The capabilities are designed to help investigators interpret relevant information and respond to emerging risks with greater precision. This launch is part of Mashreq's broader investment in evolving its fraud risk management framework to handle the growing complexity of financial crime by bringing together disparate information to accelerate investigations.

"In an increasingly digital financial landscape, fraud is becoming more sophisticated, and the way banks respond must adapt accordingly. At Mashreq, we are committed to implementing AI responsibly in areas where it can have a meaningful impact, strengthening the resilience of our operations and the trust our customers place in us."

Ahmed Abdelaal, Group Chief Executive Officer at Mashreq Bank.

The companies involved

Mashreq is a major financial institution operating in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It has established itself as a digital-first leader in the Dubai banking sector, frequently piloting emerging technologies to streamline its operations and customer experience. Clari5, the partner for this deployment, is a specialist in financial crime management and is a Perfios company. Clari5 focuses on providing real-time fraud management and financial crime excellence solutions that can be governed by a bank’s internal rules rather than acting as an independent black box.

Its parent company, Perfios, is a prominent B2B SaaS firm that provides real-time decisioning and data analysis tools for the financial services industry. Perfios has expanded its footprint significantly through acquisitions like Clari5, positioning itself as a comprehensive provider for banks looking to modernize their risk and compliance frameworks. Together, these entities are targeting the intersection of high-speed digital banking and the increasingly complex regulatory requirements of the MENA financial markets, emphasizing on-premises security and human-in-the-loop AI systems.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has followed Mashreq’s aggressive digital transformation and financial growth closely. The bank recently reported a record AED 7.3 billion nine-month profit, with assets surpassing the AED 400 billion mark. Beyond financial performance, Mashreq has been active in international expansion and technical innovation, recently launching its NEO BIZ digital banking platform for SMEs in Pakistan. The bank is also a frequent early adopter of AI; we previously covered its pilot of agentic AI with IBM to modernize software engineering. Additionally, Mashreq has sought to automate its trade finance operations through an expanded partnership with Traydstream, highlighting a consistent strategy of embedding automation across diverse banking verticals.

What this means

This move signals a shift in how tier-one banks approach generative AI, moving away from experimental chatbots toward core risk infrastructure. By insisting on on-premises deployment and "explainable" AI, Mashreq is addressing the primary hurdle for AI adoption in banking: regulatory accountability. The industry is currently under pressure to prove that AI can assist in fraud detection without creating "black box" decisions that fail audit standards. As financial crime grows more sophisticated, the market is likely to see a divergence between banks that rely on legacy rules-based systems and those that successfully integrate generative models to synthesize complex data patterns for human review.