The Next Evolution of Fraud Defense: Unlocking Collective Intelligence with Sonar AI

In this episode of Banking on Fraudology, Hailey Windham sits down with Ravi Loganathan, Co-founder and President of Sonar AI and Head of Banking and Policy at Sardine. Ravi brings more than 20 years of experience in banking and consortium work with institutions such as Early Warning Services, Zelle, and Bank of America. At Sardine, he has been leading efforts to make intelligent information sharing accessible and actionable for institutions of all sizes.

The conversation takes a deep dive into collective intelligence, which Ravi describes as a “must-have” in an era of rapidly accelerating, AI-driven scams. Fraudsters exploit gaps in information sharing by moving from one institution, such as a fintech, to another, such as a large regulated bank. This makes ecosystem-wide defense essential.

Key takeaways: Unlocking collective intelligence with Sonar AI

The Sonar AI origin story

• Sonar AI was launched three years ago by a group of banks and fintechs to address a critical gap, the lack of infrastructure for real-time risk information sharing at the moment funds movement or instant settlement is authorized. 
• The initiative was driven by the rise of authorized push payment fraud and, in particular, the lack of visibility into the recipient of funds.

How Sonar AI works

• Sonar AI functions as an industry utility. Before authorizing a fund movement or account opening, an institution can query Sonar about the entity involved in the transaction.
• Sonar returns curated signals, often simplified into indicators such as high, medium, or low risk, or block list status. 
• Institutions use these insights to augment their existing risk decisioning, and in return, they contribute feedback that benefits the next participating member.

Regulatory foundation

• Sonar AI is built on a strong regulatory framework. The platform worked with FinCEN to obtain 314(b) designation, enabling the formation of an association of financial institutions. 
• It also supports broader fraud signal sharing under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

Empowering smaller financial institutions

• Sonar AI offers features designed specifically for community banks and credit unions, including batch contribution and batch inquiry capabilities that remove the need for immediate API builds. 
• Ravi also highlights collaboration with the Independent Community Bankers of America accelerator program, which helps embed Sardine’s solutions into core providers and invites financial institutions to join Sonar as members.

Future innovations

• Ravi shares details on Sonar AI’s newest services, including Entity Footprint, which provides a broader view of a consumer’s financial activity by tracking transactions across crypto exchanges, marketplaces, and fintechs. 
• He also discusses the expansion of the Red Flag service, which monitors credentials leaked on the dark web.

This episode is a must-listen for investigators, executives, and anyone working in financial crime prevention who is serious about strengthening defenses and ready to embrace the future of shared, collective protection.