Canada's Leading Financial Institutions, Telecom Providers and EnStream Join Forces to Launch the Cross-Sector Anti-Fraud Exchange

Bell, BMO, CIBC, Desjardins, National Bank, RBC, Rogers Communications, Scotiabank and TELUS can now share confirmed fraud intelligence through a single platform, built by EnStream, to close the sector gaps criminals exploit and to enable stronger, faster fraud protection for Canadians.

TORONTO, Oct. 14, 2026 /CNW/ -- Canada's leading financial institutions, telecom providers and EnStream today announce the launch of the Cross-Sector Anti-Fraud Exchange (CSAFE) to share confirmed fraud intelligence through a single, common platform to further help protect Canadians against fraud.

Developed by EnStream, following a pilot with CIBC and Rogers, the platform aims to help participating institutions identify and prevent repeat fraud through a shared tool, adding a layer of protection for millions of Canadians.

How the Collective Comes Together

The pilot pioneered a new approach to sharing confirmed fraud intelligence between participating institutions and demonstrated the significant value that could be realized through broader cross-sector collaboration and scale.

Participating institutions will contribute confirmed fraud intelligence to CSAFE. EnStream operates the platform which aggregates, standardizes, and enriches the contributed data using secure infrastructure and controls, while applying proprietary intelligence to help assess the continuity and current relevance of each record. CSAFE operates within a defined governance framework, and each participant independently uses the intelligence generated by the platform within its own fraud management processes and controls. CSAFE is a collective effort with participating institutions each contributing intelligence on confirmed fraud, and each drawing on a shared, broader view of confirmed fraud to strengthen their own defences.

Through CSAFE participants will:

• Help protect Canadians by disrupting fraudsters
• Help identify repeat fraud at critical decision points across account opening, authentication, and transaction
• Use confirmed, cross-sector fraud intelligence to strengthen fraud-management activities and decision-making controls
• Reduce fraud risks with aggregated insights drawn from a broader set of confirmed events across participating institutions
• Facilitate timely sharing of confirmed fraud intelligence so that participants can assess and respond accordingly

"A collaboration like this is only as strong as the platform behind it," said Upinder Saini, President & CEO, EnStream. "Participants bring the confirmed fraud intelligence; our role is to give them a secure, common platform to act on it together and to keep strengthening the capabilities over time with AI and machine learning as CSAFE grows, so the collective gets smarter and more effective over time."

Why the Timing is Critical

Fraud in Canada continues to grow in scale and sophistication as criminals adopt new techniques to automate and refine their schemes, including artificial intelligence and machine learning.

The implementation of CSAFE reflects the cross-sector collaboration required to help prevent the growing impact of fraud on Canadians. Financial institutions and telecom providers have come together to establish coordinated cross-sector defence, building on steps that the private sectors and federal government have already taken to combat this issue. For Canadians, this collective effort means faster fraud detection and better fraud prevention with less disruption to their finances and daily lives.

"Fraud is a rapidly evolving, cross-sector problem, and our response has to reflect that to be successful," said Anthony Ostler, President & CEO, Canadian Bankers Association. "When financial institutions, telecom providers, government and law enforcement act on the same confirmed intelligence instead of working in isolation, we close the gaps criminals rely on to move undetected between sectors. That kind of collaboration is critical to protect Canadians; it's the only way Canadian institutions can outpace fraudsters today."

Bell, BMO, CIBC, Desjardins, National Bank, RBC, Rogers Communications, Scotiabank and TELUS are all set to join as founding participants of CSAFE. 

"By working collaboratively and through innovative initiatives such as CSAFE, the financial industry and telecoms together are strengthening fraud protection and enhancing security for Canadians."
-- Nick Payant, SVP, Chief Information Security Officer, Bell

"BMO continues to invest in capabilities that help us identify, prevent and respond to evolving fraud threats. Collaboration and the responsible sharing of confirmed fraud intelligence among stakeholders can help strengthen those efforts and support broader protections for our clients and communities."
-- Yonatan Yohannes, Head, Fraud Controls & Capabilities, BMO

"Protecting our clients from fraud is our top priority. In helping design and bring CSAFE to market, we're extending that protection from beyond the edge of our own systems in concert with other major Canadian organizations to protect all Canadians."
-- Ben Mellett, SVP of Fraud Management, Client Account Management, and Disputes, CIBC

"Protecting our members and clients is at the heart of everything we do. As fraud threats become increasingly sophisticated, strong partnerships are essential to staying ahead. By sharing trusted fraud intelligence through CSAFE, we can detect known bad actors faster, strengthen prevention efforts, and help ensure Canadians can bank, transact, and live digitally with greater confidence."
-- Karine Bolduc, Vice-President, Fraud and Financial Crime Prevention Division, Desjardins Group

"Every fraud attempt represents more than a financial loss. It is a breach of trust that impacts real people and families. With CSAFE, we are creating a stronger national line of defense against fraud. When trusted organizations stand together, criminals have fewer places to hide and Canadians are better protected."
-- Christian Loignon, Vice-President, Head of Financial Crimes Management, National Bank

"Fraud is a growing concern for Canadians, and we're committed to investing in innovative ways to better protect our customers. We are proud that our work on this pilot helped introduce a tangible way for organizations across sectors to collaborate, strengthen safeguards and enhance fraud protection for Canadians."
-- Iain Kennedy, Chief Information Technology and Cyber Security Officer, Rogers Communications

"Protecting clients from fraud requires more than strong controls within any one organization. It requires collaboration across the ecosystem, consistent with our commitment to earning the trust clients place in us. Through CSAFE, we are helping advance a more coordinated, intelligence-led approach to fighting fraud in Canada."
-- Aaron McAllister, Vice President, Fraud Threat Management, Scotiabank

"Keeping Canadians safe from increasingly sophisticated fraud requires bold, cross-industry collaboration. By uniting telecom and financial leaders on CSAFE, we are turning shared intelligence into immediate action, creating a safer digital ecosystem for all Canadians."
-- Carey Frey, Chief Security Officer, TELUS

Built to Grow

The Cross-Sector Anti-Fraud Exchange is available today, with Canada's leading financial institutions and telecom providers among its first participants. As a collective initiative, its value is designed to grow with its membership - additional financial, technology and other institutions are welcome to join over time, extending the same shared protection to more sectors and more of the fraud patterns that cross between them.

"This is the beginning, not the destination," said Jennifer Quaid, Executive Director, CASC. "Every institution that joins CSAFE makes the collective more valuable for everyone already in it. Our goal is a Cross-Sector Anti-Fraud Exchange that eventually spans every sector fraudsters try to exploit."

Information about CSAFE platform is available at enstream.com/csafe

About EnStream

EnStream LP is a joint venture of Canada's top mobile telecom providers - Bell Mobility, Rogers Communications, and TELUS Communications. Leveraging real-time mobile intelligence, EnStream provides cutting-edge identity verification and authentication services for a wide range of applications.

We are a trusted partner for leading financial institutions, technology firms, and public sector organizations, delivering services that support 90% of mobile users nationwide. Our solutions power major banks, cryptocurrency platforms, government agencies, insurance providers, gaming, healthcare, and more. By utilizing real-world, verified identities and network intelligence from trusted mobile devices and carriers, we continue to enhance online security, fraud prevention, and seamless user experience for both consumers and businesses.

To find out more about EnStream, visit www.enstream.com

SOURCE EnStream LP

Media Contact, Karen Ng, Head of Marketing, EnStream, [email protected]