KBC expands fraud prevention tool to 4 million customers

KBC has extended a fraud-prevention tool that gives customers an extra layer of protection before money leaves their accounts. The Belgian bank said the service, called guardian angel, is now available to more than four million customers in Belgium. It follows a pilot phase that involved 2,000 customers.

The feature lets a customer choose a trusted person to review suspicious payments before they are executed. If a transaction raises concerns, the designated contact can step in and check whether the payment is genuine. KBC presents this as a way to catch scams before funds are transferred, rather than trying to recover money afterward.

Fraud prevention has become a priority for banks as criminals use increasingly sophisticated methods to trick customers. Authorised push payment scams, phishing and impersonation attempts can be difficult for individuals to spot in the moment. By adding a second set of eyes, KBC aims to reduce losses and give customers more confidence when making payments.

The broader rollout reflects growing interest in tools that combine customer control with real-time intervention. KBC's guardian angel is designed to work alongside existing security measures, not replace them. For the bank, scaling the feature to millions of users marks a significant step in its efforts to protect customers from financial crime.