Nationwide Building Society, the world’s largest building society serving more than 17 million customers, has deepened its alliance with Amazon Web Services to deploy AI-driven defenses against escalating cyber threats and fraud in financial services. The expanded partnership focuses on accelerating cloud security innovations, enhancing fraud detection, and boosting employee cloud expertise amid rising impersonation scams.

This move builds on Nationwide’s existing use of Amazon Connect, AWS’s cloud contact center platform, now extended for real-time threat detection across branches and digital channels. The collaboration equips frontline staff with tools for secure, informed customer service while adhering to strict regulatory demands. Cyber Magazine detailed how the agreement fortifies Nationwide’s cybersecurity posture through scalable cloud infrastructure.

Suresh Viswanathan, Nationwide’s Group Chief Operating Officer, emphasized the strategic fit: “As we continue our digital transformation, we need cloud technology that can support our ambition to deliver better customer experiences, while keeping safety and security at the forefront. With AWS, we can better support our frontline colleagues to help improve member experience and deliver better outcomes for more than 17 million customers.”

AIMING AT IMPERSONATION FRAUD

A centerpiece of the partnership is Nationwide’s Call Checker service, launched in January 2025 and powered by Amazon Connect. This AI tool lets customers confirm they are interacting with legitimate Nationwide staff, directly tackling impersonation fraud that comprised 17% of incidents reported between 2024 and 2025. By embedding AI for authentication, Nationwide streamlines verification and counters sophisticated scams at scale.

The integration enables rapid deployment of security updates, ensuring operational continuity across physical branches and online platforms. AWS’s infrastructure underpins this agility, allowing Nationwide to adapt swiftly to new threats while upholding data protection standards. Business Chief, via AWS Newsroom on X, highlighted Amazon Connect’s role in the Call Checker rollout for 17 million customers.

Alison Kay, AWS VP and Managing Director for UKI, underscored the mutual benefits: “By consolidating and modernising their workloads on AWS, Nationwide can accelerate innovation, enhance operational resilience and deliver the digital experiences their members expect – all while maintaining the security and compliance standards that are paramount in financial services.”

BUILDING CLOUD EXPERTISE

Beyond technology, the deal includes AWS training programs to upskill Nationwide’s workforce in cloud computing and AI. This initiative aims to embed expertise across departments, future-proofing operations in a sector prioritizing digital resilience. Such efforts align with broader industry shifts where financial firms invest heavily in AI and cloud to combat fraud.

AWS’s native fraud detection tools, drawing from two decades of protecting its own services, enrich these capabilities. Amazon Fraud Detector uses machine learning to identify anomalies beyond traditional rules-based systems, as outlined in AWS documentation. This expertise bolsters partners like Nationwide against evolving attacks.

The partnership exemplifies how cloud providers enable financial institutions to balance innovation with compliance. AWS Security Competency Partners offer specialized solutions for AI workloads, including data privacy and threat response, per AWS Partner Network.

FRAUD TRENDS DRIVING URGENCY

Impersonation fraud’s rise underscores the timing. UK reports show it surging, with AI tools like deepfakes amplifying risks. Nationwide’s proactive stance via AWS positions it ahead, using real-time AI to flag threats during customer interactions. This contrasts with industry challenges where rule-based detection lags behind fraudster tactics.

AWS’s broader ecosystem supports such defenses. Solutions like Guidance for Fraud Detection Using Machine Learning on AWS enable near-real-time monitoring of transactions, preventing fraud before completion, according to AWS Guidance. Serverless architectures with Lambda and Step Functions further streamline these processes.

For Nationwide, the focus remains on member trust. By leveraging AWS, the society not only detects fraud but also enhances service speed and security, setting a benchmark for peers facing similar pressures.

SCALING SECURITY IN FINANCE

The collaboration reflects a sector-wide pivot to AI-augmented cloud security. AWS Marketplace listings, such as Group-IB Fraud Protection, demonstrate cloud-native tools integrating seamlessly for real-time defense across channels, as noted in AWS Marketplace. Nationwide’s approach mirrors this, prioritizing scalability and compliance.

Training components address skill gaps, critical as 55% of organizations cite workforce shortages in AI security, per an AWS Partner Network blog. AWS resources empower Nationwide teams to innovate securely, reducing reliance on external expertise.

Looking ahead, this partnership fortifies Nationwide against threats like account takeovers and synthetic identities, prevalent in banking. By embedding AI early, it ensures resilient operations for its vast customer base.