GBG's Carol Chris has spent over two decades working in data and technology, with extensive experience in financial services, telecommunications, and technology industries.
Now serving as the General Manager for GBG in the APAC region, Chris leads the team in delivering cutting-edge solutions in digital identity and fraud prevention.
"What's really important for me is to ensure that we're close to our customers and close to the market," she said, explaining her focus on understanding customer needs, regulatory requirements, and ensuring compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) legislation.
GBG has built a significant presence in the region, with around 100 identity, fraud, and financial crime experts spread across Australia and New Zealand. Globally, GBG has approximately 1,200 employees across various regions, including EMEA and the US.
Chris highlighted the importance of collaboration across these regions. "We connect on what's happening in different parts of the world, leveraging experiences and capabilities to support our customers," she said.
One of GBG's recent innovations is the 'Trust Alert' product, which was developed to address the surge in data breaches experienced in Australia. The product helps organizations detect when stolen identities are used to open accounts.
"We launched Trust Alert, and it was designed to detect if a stolen identity was being used to onboard as part of a service offered by a bank, gaming, or wagering organization," Chris explained.
The product leverages GBG's extensive data footprint, which includes over 40 million identity verifications per year across numerous industries.
"We were able to detect if an identity was being used multiple times, which strongly indicated potential fraud," she said.
Fraudsters often attempt to establish telco accounts first, followed by attempts to infiltrate gaming, wagering, and financial institutions. GBG's data insights have proven vital in identifying these trends. "We saw that stolen identities were often used multiple times in a day, which is highly unusual for legitimate users," Chris said.
Regulatory focus on AML compliance has driven growth in demand for GBG's services.
"Compliance is critical for our customers, and we focus heavily on providing solutions that help meet those needs," Chris said. She added that scams, fraud, and financial crimes continue to dominate headlines, making fraud prevention an urgent priority for many organizations.
Feedback on GBG's Trust Alert product has been particularly positive, especially from financial services and gaming clients.
"We've received strong feedback from customers about how the product has helped them stop fraudulent account takeovers and prevented fraudulent accounts from being established," Chris said.
For Chris, positive feedback is one of the most rewarding aspects of her role. "The most rewarding thing for us is working closely with customers to innovate and develop the right products," she said. "We go through proof-of-concept phases to ensure our solutions deliver the right results."
GBG's focus on identity verification and fraud prevention has allowed the company to build a strong position in the Australian market.
"We are the market leader in Australia, and we've grown by constantly innovating and adding data and technology to our solutions," Chris explained.
Chris identified compliance with AML legislation as a key challenge facing GBG's customers. "Compliance is the number one challenge, followed by fraud prevention," she said. She emphasized the importance of delivering seamless solutions that integrate smoothly into customer onboarding processes, ensuring both security and a positive user experience.
Unlike many companies that rely heavily on tech partnerships, GBG develops its own technology in-house.
"We have our own technology team here in Australia," Chris said. However, GBG does collaborate with key data partners such as Experian, which provides valuable credit and data sets to enhance GBG's solutions.
"Experian has a huge amount of data that we can integrate into Green ID," Chris said, adding that Experian's investment in expanding data sets helps GBG better support its customers.
Chris credits GBG's success to its people and their extensive experience in the industry. "Our subject matter experts have worked with organizations across various sectors for a long time, building strong relationships and constantly improving our solutions," she said.
GBG's recent growth has been significant, and Chris credits this to staying connected to customer needs. "Our focus has always been on the customer first, understanding their needs and delivering the right solutions," she said.
Looking ahead, GBG plans to expand its global reach to better support customers with international data and insights.
"We process more than two billion transactions per year globally, and we're focused on delivering insights to help customers understand trends across the global network," Chris said.
Chris also praised her team for their innovation and dedication. "We always challenge each other to collaborate and find the best outcomes for our customers," she said. "Recently, we completed a significant 15-month project for a major customer, and the feedback was outstanding."
In addition to her business insights, Chris reflected on her experience as a senior female leader in the technology industry. She noted GBG's focus on increasing female representation in engineering and technology roles.
"We put a strong focus on bringing in women in engineering, and through a small initial group, we built a broader network that grew over time," Chris said.
"Many fantastic technologists and engineers aren't always visible on platforms like LinkedIn, so it's important to look beyond the obvious talent pools."
For GBG, innovation, customer success, and a commitment to tackling global fraud challenges remain at the heart of its growth strategy. "We're committed to working with our customers to future-proof their solutions," Chris said.