The Linux Foundation | 28 February 2024
Tazama is the first open source platform for financial monitoring and fraud detection.
SAN FRANCISCO – Feb. 28, 2024 – Linux Foundation Charities (LF Charities), with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is proud to announce the launch of Tazama, a groundbreaking open source software solution for real-time fraud prevention. This launch marks a significant milestone in the evolution of digital financial services, introducing the first-ever open source platform dedicated to enhancing fraud management in digital payments.
Tazama represents a significant shift in how financial monitoring and compliance have been approached globally. Until now, the financial industry has grappled with proprietary and often costly solutions that have limited access and adaptability for many, especially in developing economies. This challenge is underscored by the Global Anti-Scam Alliance, which reported that nearly $1 trillion was lost to online fraud in 2022.
Tazama challenges this status quo by providing a powerful, scalable, and cost-effective alternative that democratizes access to advanced financial monitoring tools that can help combat fraud.
Tazama addresses key concerns of government, civil society, end users, industry bodies, and the financial services industry, including fraud detection, AML Compliance, and the cost-effective monitoring of digital financial transactions. The solution's architecture emphasizes data sovereignty, privacy, and transparency, aligning with the priorities of governments worldwide. Hosted by LF Charities, which will support the operation and function of the project, Tazama showcases the scalability and robustness of open source solutions, particularly in critical infrastructure like national payment switches.
Several organizations are exploring synergies with Tazama, including BankservAfrica, IPSL, JoPACC, and BCEAO. Synergies include an evaluation of Tazama’s solution effectiveness, scalability, and adaptability in real-world scenarios, ensuring it meets and exceeds the diverse needs of Digital Financial Services Providers (DFSPs) across various sectors.
"Innovation in financial technology is critical and Tazama is at the forefront of that evolution," said Jim Zemlin, Executive Director of the Linux Foundation. "We are excited to see an open source solution that not only enhances financial security but also provides a platform for our community to actively contribute to a project with broad societal impacts."
"This pioneering open source platform helps address critical challenges like fraud detection and compliance and paves the way for innovative, inclusive financial solutions that serve everyone, especially those in low-income countries," said Kosta Peric, Deputy Director, Payment Systems, at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “The launch of Tazama signifies another stride towards securing and democratizing digital financial services."
"Very few anti-fraud systems have true real time capability," said Greg McCormick, Executive Director of Tazama. "Yet that is what we need to stop fraud before the payment is made and to ensure that a user can trust the system and they won’t lose their money. The bigger challenge was how do we keep the costs down and do this all with open source. We achieved 2,300 TPS (Full Payment Transactions Per Second). Both the team and I are very proud of what we have accomplished, but more is coming. The Linux Foundation will help us accomplish our goals and fully embrace the open source ethos."
Tazama welcomes central banks, regulators, mobile payments providers, system integrators, organizations and individuals to get involved and participate. To learn more about Tazama, its mission, community and initiatives, please visit the Tazama website and GitHub.
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About Linux Foundation Charities
LF Charities empowers people and communities worldwide to engage in the creation and development of open source technology. This includes enabling a wide range of technical collaboration, including open source software, standards, hardware, and data. It is the goal of LF Charities to enable development of open technology which is shared freely across the world to tackle societal challenges and bridge inequalities. LF Charities is committed to fostering a public commons for open source technology—a commons that propels the advancement of society at large. With this charitable mission, LF Charities supports the Linux Foundation ecosystem. For more information please visit https://lf-charities.org/.
Media Contact
Noah Lehman
The Linux Foundation
nlehman@linuxfoundation.org