EP990: Building the Rails: Smarter, Faster, Fraud-Proof Finance
The modern financial system isn't driven by flashy apps—it's powered by invisible, high-speed infrastructure built by 'tech fins' like Perfios Software Solutions. Unlike consumer-facing fintechs, tech fins operate beneath the surface, constructing the rails that enable banks, NBFCs, and insurers to function at scale. Perfios, which explicitly avoids calling itself a fintech, has developed over 75 integrated products that manage the entire customer lifecycle—from onboarding to fraud prevention—using AI-driven underwriting powered by alternative data. This allows lenders to assess creditworthiness not by traditional credit scores, but by analyzing real-time transaction patterns, digital footprints, and cash flow, unlocking access for millions previously excluded. The real breakthrough? A secure, AI-powered system that doesn't just process data—it collaborates with underwriters via a two-way dialogue, interpreting complex documents in real time. But with speed comes risk: fraudsters exploit the same velocity. Perfios counters this with a real-time, AI-driven fraud defense ecosystem, using behavioral analytics, device fingerprinting, and deepfake detection. Crucially, they protect privacy through federated learning—training AI models on-device without moving sensitive data—making innovation and compliance coexist.
Tech fins like Perfios build the foundational infrastructure—'the rails'—that enables banks, fintechs, and insurers to operate at scale, not just consumer-facing apps.
Alternative data analysis (transaction patterns, digital footprints, cash flow) allows lenders to assess creditworthiness without relying on traditional credit scores, expanding access to new-to-credit borrowers.
AI acts as a real-time, two-way analytical partner for underwriters, enabling instant cross-referencing of complex documents and reducing human bias and error.
Fraud prevention is now a real-time, AI-driven arms race—using behavioral analytics, device fingerprinting, and mule account detection to stop fraud in milliseconds.
Federated learning allows AI models to be trained on-device without moving raw personal data, enabling privacy-preserving innovation that complies with GDPR and India’s DPDP Act.
…and 3 more takeaways available in PodZeus
Beyond the App: The Hidden Engine of Modern Finance
“The real power lies in the hidden layers of data processing, alternative risk assessment and, well, behavioral analytics that happen in milliseconds before your screen ever flashes green.”
Tech Fin vs. Fintech: The Rails vs. the Trains
“If fintechs and consumer banking apps are the high-speed trains that customers actually ride to get to their financial destinations... TechFins, like Perfios, are the ones building the rails.”
Democratizing Credit with Alternative Data
“By analyzing how a small business manages its daily working capital or how consistently an individual interacts with utility payments or digital wallets, institutions can accurately assess credit worthiness even if the applicant's traditional credit file is completely blank.”
AI as the Underwriter’s Real-Time Partner
“The underwriter prompts the system, you know, what are the specific anomalies in this applicant's cash flow over the last six months or reconcile the daily merchant receipts with the studied annual revenue. And the AI instantly pinpoints the insights.”
The Fraud Arms Race: AI vs. AI
“If your account is suddenly accessed by a device that types 400 words a minute and has no gyroscope movement whatsoever, the system instantly flags it as a bot, even if the password is 100% correct.”
“If your account is suddenly accessed by a device that types 400 words a minute and has no gyroscope movement whatsoever, the system instantly flags it as a bot, even if the password is 100% correct.”
“The underwriter... prompts the system, you know, what are the specific anomalies in this applicant's cash flow over the last six months or reconcile the daily merchant receipts with the studied annual revenue. And the AI instantly pinpoints the insights and interprets the complex data.”
“The real power lies in the hidden layers of data processing, alternative risk assessment and, well, behavioral analytics that happen in milliseconds before your screen ever flashes green.”
Host
Guest
Perfios Software Solutions
organization
Sabi Sachi-Gaswami
person
federated learning
other
Clary 5
organization
R-RAG pipelines
other
Digital India
other
DPI systems
other
GDPR
other
DPDP Act
other
EP981: AI Redefines the Rules of Data Assurance
22m • 6/1/2026
EP982: Reimagining Credit for Digital Economy
12m • 6/1/2026
EP983: FinTech Goes Local: Women Bringing Banking Home
20m • 6/1/2026
EP984: The Real FinTech War? Winning Credit
20m • 6/2/2026
EP986: Old Money, New Moves: How India’s Family Offices Are Playing It Smart
20m • 6/2/2026
Start discovering podcast insights today
Start with a 7-day trial and explore a growing catalog of popular podcasts. No credit card required.
No credit card required • 7-day trial • Cancel anytime