NatWest partners with OpenAI for AI-driven fraud prevention & service
In a significant stride towards a more intelligent and secure banking future, NatWest has deepened its engagement with artificial intelligence through a landmark partnership with OpenAI, announced on March 20, 2025. This collaboration positions NatWest as the first UK-headquartered bank to formally team up with the generative AI pioneer, aiming to revolutionize key operational areas from fraud prevention to customer service. The move underscores a broader strategic vision to augment, rather than replace, human engagement with advanced technological capabilities.
At the heart of this alliance is the accelerated deployment of generative AI across NatWest’s extensive operations. The bank intends to leverage OpenAI’s cutting-edge technology and insights to enhance its existing suite of AI tools, including the customer-facing chatbot Cora+ and the internal virtual assistant AskArchie+. This integration is expected to yield substantial benefits, such as a reported 150% improvement in customer satisfaction through Cora+'s GenAI functionalities, alongside a notable reduction in the need for human intervention.
The immediate focus areas for this enhanced AI engagement are critical to modern banking. In fraud prevention, the partnership seeks to bolster NatWest’s already robust defenses. The bank has a proven track record, having previously prevented over £7 million in corporate fraud through machine learning-based invoice payment redirection detection and recently rolled out Mastercard’s AI technology for real-time scam prevention. With OpenAI’s capabilities, NatWest aims to further accelerate fraud reporting and resolution, enabling quicker protection for vulnerable accounts and freeing up call handlers for more complex customer needs. Beyond fraud, AI will be instrumental in advanced risk modeling, allowing for more precise assessments and proactive management of financial exposures.
Customer service is another pivotal area set for transformation. The goal is to evolve digital assistant services to help customers with more intricate tasks, provide clearer insights into their financial positions, and assist in setting future financial goals. Internally, NatWest colleagues across Retail, Commercial, and Wealth sectors will benefit from sophisticated AI tools designed to streamline support, manage complaints, and enhance overall productivity. This aligns with the bank’s ethos of “augmented intelligence,” where AI empowers employees to work smarter and deliver more personalized services.
NatWest’s collaboration with OpenAI is part of a larger, ongoing digital transformation. The bank is actively exploring over 275 AI projects, with approximately 25 already in production, demonstrating a deep commitment to embedding AI across its entire business. This commitment extends to fostering an “AI-fluent” workforce, with almost 63,000 colleagues having completed guided AI learning pathways and elective completions surging to nearly 112,000 this year, marking a significant cultural shift. Furthermore, a recent five-year collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Accenture, announced on July 23, 2025, aims to accelerate bank-wide data and AI transformation, consolidating data into a central platform for improved service speed and product delivery.
As financial institutions globally increasingly adopt AI, ethical considerations remain paramount. NatWest has emphasized its commitment to deploying AI in a safe and responsible manner, guided by its Artificial Intelligence & Data Ethics Code of Conduct. This reflects a broader industry trend where ethical AI frameworks, bias mitigation, transparency, and data privacy are crucial for maintaining customer trust and adhering to evolving regulatory landscapes, such as the EU AI Act and NIST AI Risk Management Framework. By prioritizing these principles, NatWest aims to ensure its AI innovations educate, protect, and empower both customers and colleagues. This strategic move by NatWest, mirroring similar partnerships by global peers like BBVA and Santander, signals a clear direction for the future of banking: one that is highly intelligent, personalized, and securely managed through cutting-edge AI.