# Pinnacle Financial Partners: Fraud and credit AI

Source: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/pinnacle/fraud-and-credit-ai
Last updated: Oct 16, 2026

*Part of the [Pinnacle Financial Partners AI strategy profile](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/pinnacle).*

## How does Pinnacle use AI for fraud detection and credit decisions?

Pinnacle's fraud defences on the record are mostly vendor tools inherited from Synovus, and its credit AI is still a stated aim. Synovus used Q2's Centrix ETMS Positive Pay to stop $89 million of fraud in 2024, including $56 million of check fraud, and a Synovus product manager said in June 2025 that Q2's AI-upgraded payee match 'greatly' reduced exceptions; Carefull, whose service runs an AI model for account monitoring, was offered to Synovus clients from February 2025. Synovus's consumer team said fraud losses fell $5.7 million, or 58%, in 2025, crediting tighter account, deposit and wire scrutiny and a customer campaign rather than one technology. In June 2025 Synovus's financial-crimes head said the bank still needed 'to figure out the model management of AI' and wanted agentic AI to draft suspicious activity report narratives. On credit, CEO Kevin Blair named 'credit intelligence', using AI to shorten application-to-closing time, as one of three AI priorities in April 2026; no system, vendor or result is public. The 2025 10-K warns that generative AI makes fraud detection harder, especially voice authentication. ([Q2](https://q2.com/blog/turning-positive-pay-into-a-fraud-fighting-superpower), [Synovus (Business Wire)](https://businesswire.com/news/home/20250225278851/en/Synovus-prioritizes-fraud-protection-with-Carefull), [American Banker](https://americanbanker.com/news/synovus-offers-fraud-scam-protections-with-carefull), [American Banker](https://americanbanker.com/news/2026-the-most-powerful-women-in-banking-women-to-watch-15-liz-wolverton-pinnacle-financial-partners), [American Banker](https://americanbanker.com/video/digital-banking-2025/cybersecurity-and-fraud-in-an-age-of-unprecedented-risks), [The Motley Fool (earnings call transcript)](https://fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2026/04/23/pinnacle-pnfp-q1-2026-earnings-transcript), [Pinnacle Financial Partners (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2082866/000208286626000018/pnfp-20251231.htm))

## What fraud tools and results has Pinnacle disclosed?

AI status as described by the bank or vendor. Most items began at Synovus.

| Control | What it does | AI | Date | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Centrix ETMS Positive Pay (Q2) | Check and ACH Positive Pay for business clients; stopped $89 million of fraud at Synovus in 2024, including $56 million in check fraud; Positive Pay accounts up 20% from 2023 to 2024 | Payee match upgraded with AI; Synovus says it 'greatly' reduced exceptions; Q2 adding its Andi copilot | June 22, 2025 | [Q2](https://q2.com/blog/turning-positive-pay-into-a-fraud-fighting-superpower) |
| Carefull | Monitors bank, card and investment accounts for concerning patterns, scams and money mistakes, with identity, title and credit monitoring; Trusted Contacts bring in family members | Carefull maintains an AI model for account monitoring | February 25, 2025 | [Synovus (Business Wire)](https://businesswire.com/news/home/20250225278851/en/Synovus-prioritizes-fraud-protection-with-Carefull), [American Banker](https://americanbanker.com/news/synovus-offers-fraud-scam-protections-with-carefull) |
| Fraud-loss reduction | Synovus consumer fraud losses fell $5.7 million, or 58%, in 2025, credited to process tightening and a customer-education campaign | Not attributed to AI | October 1, 2026 (reported) | [American Banker](https://americanbanker.com/news/2026-the-most-powerful-women-in-banking-women-to-watch-15-liz-wolverton-pinnacle-financial-partners) |
| Scam detection layer | 'Stop, drop, and call' messaging plus added detection for when customers hand over one-time access codes to impostors | Not described | June 2, 2025 | [American Banker](https://americanbanker.com/video/digital-banking-2025/cybersecurity-and-fraud-in-an-age-of-unprecedented-risks) |
| Chief security officer | Doug Hromco, from Accenture, leads enterprise cybersecurity and fraud prevention from May 2026 | No AI remit stated | May 7, 2026 | [Business Wire via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202605071300BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260507_BW005083-1) |
| Treasury client guidance | Tells finance teams AI helps with routine work but 'fraudsters have access to AI, too'; human review kept in payment workflows | Guidance only | June 2026 | [Pinnacle Financial Partners](https://www.pnfp.com/learning-center/business-resource-center/articles/managing-your-business/ai-and-treasury-management-more-opportunity-more-risk/) |

## What has Pinnacle said about AI in credit and about AI model risk?

| Item | What it says | Source | Date | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Credit intelligence | One of three AI priorities: using AI to cut the time from client application to closing; no deployed system, vendor or metric | Q1 2026 earnings call | April 23, 2026 | [The Motley Fool (earnings call transcript)](https://fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2026/04/23/pinnacle-pnfp-q1-2026-earnings-transcript) |
| Agentic AI wish list | Synovus's financial-crimes head: 'We need to figure out the model management of AI', but agentic AI could turn investigators' case notes into SAR narratives and clear no-risk alerts, such as a $10,000 check alert on a $100 million commercial relationship | Caleb Callahan, Senior Director, Financial Crimes Unit | June 2, 2025 | [American Banker](https://americanbanker.com/video/digital-banking-2025/cybersecurity-and-fraud-in-an-age-of-unprecedented-risks) |
| Generative AI and fraud detection | Generative AI is 'making fraud detection more difficult, particularly with detection devices that use voice recognition or authentication' | 2025 10-K | March 2, 2026 | [Pinnacle Financial Partners (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2082866/000208286626000018/pnfp-20251231.htm) |
| AI model risk | AI and complex models carry accuracy, bias, explainability and compliance risk | Q1 2026 10-Q | May 6, 2026 | [Pinnacle Financial Partners (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2082866/000208286626000043/pnfp-20260331.htm) |
| Explainability | AI opacity complicates 'complying with regulations that require documentation or explanation of the basis on which decisions are made' | Synovus 2024 10-K | February 21, 2025 | [Synovus Financial Corp. (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/18349/000001834925000049/syn-20241231.htm) |

## What does the Pinnacle profile record on this topic?

| Date | Move | Detail | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 1, 2026 | Chief digital officer: 200,000-plus customers move to a new app in March 2027 | American Banker profile of Liz Wolverton, who sets digital-platform priorities with a headcount of 50 and no P&L; she credits Synovus's 2025 fraud-loss reduction of $5.7 million (58%) to process tightening and a customer campaign. | [American Banker](https://americanbanker.com/news/2026-the-most-powerful-women-in-banking-women-to-watch-15-liz-wolverton-pinnacle-financial-partners) |
| Aug 4, 2026 | Q2 10-Q: AI initiatives listed as an execution risk | Technology initiatives 'including those related to or involving artificial intelligence' may not be successfully implemented; total assets $129.1 billion. | [Pinnacle Financial Partners (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2082866/000208286626000082/pnfp-20260630.htm) |
| May 7, 2026 | Doug Hromco named chief security officer | From Accenture, where he advised boards on cybersecurity strategy; previously CISO of a multi-state community bank. He leads enterprise cybersecurity, fraud prevention and physical and information security and succeeds Kevin Gowen, who retires after 30 years as Synovus's CSO. | [Business Wire via FT Markets](https://markets.ft.com/data/announce/detail?dockey=600-202605071300BIZWIRE_USPRX____20260507_BW005083-1) |
| May 6, 2026 | Q1 10-Q: AI named in strategy and risk factors; gen-AI rule in code of conduct | AI among 'bank of the future' initiatives; AI and complex models carry accuracy, bias, explainability and compliance risk; unapproved gen-AI use prohibited. | [Pinnacle Financial Partners (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2082866/000208286626000043/pnfp-20260331.htm), [Pinnacle Financial Partners (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2082866/000208286626000043/a14-pinnaclecodeofbusiness.htm) |
| May 5, 2026 | 'Top of wallet' comes down to trust | The bank's digital-experience lead on spending advice and fraud alerts as the basis for card primacy. | [American Banker](https://americanbanker.com/payments/news/barclays-pinnacle-regions-discuss-digital-wallet-strategies) |
| Apr 23, 2026 | Q1 call: ChatPFP, 13 AI initiatives, 'through the pilot phase' | Blair: ChatPFP, rolled out at Synovus about a year earlier, has answered 18,000 banker questions and saved over 3,000 hours; 13 AI portfolio initiatives are in flight across banker productivity, credit intelligence and partner AI; over 250 technology platforms decisioned for the conversion; AI tools will be used on process re-engineering and some conversion coding. | [The Motley Fool (earnings call transcript)](https://fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2026/04/23/pinnacle-pnfp-q1-2026-earnings-transcript) |
| Apr 21, 2026 | Head of AI profiled | Kevin Johnson credited with pioneering gen-AI adoption and shaping the bank's AI policy. | [American Banker](https://digital-banking.americanbanker.com/profile/kevin-d-johnson) |
| Mar 2, 2026 | 2025 10-K flags AI risk | Generative AI makes fraud detection harder, especially voice authentication; AI and machine-learning tools may add cyber, data-leakage and cost risks. | [Pinnacle Financial Partners (SEC filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2082866/000208286626000018/pnfp-20251231.htm) |

## Common questions

### Does Pinnacle use AI to detect fraud?

Through vendors. Synovus's Positive Pay runs on Q2's Centrix ETMS, whose payee-match feature Q2 upgraded with AI, and Synovus clients are offered Carefull, which maintains an AI model for account monitoring. Pinnacle has not disclosed an in-house AI fraud model, and Synovus credited its 58% drop in 2025 consumer fraud losses to process changes and customer education.

### How much fraud did Synovus stop with Positive Pay?

Q2 reported that Synovus used Centrix ETMS to stop $89 million of fraud in 2024, including $56 million of check fraud, and that one client faced more than $2 million of attempted fraud in a few months, all of it stopped. Synovus grew Positive Pay accounts 20% from 2023 to 2024.

### Does Pinnacle use AI for credit decisions?

Not yet on the record. CEO Kevin Blair listed 'credit intelligence', using AI to shorten the time from application to closing, as one of three AI priorities in April 2026, but no system, vendor or result has been disclosed. The 10-Q flags accuracy, bias and explainability risk in AI and complex models.

### What does Pinnacle's 10-K say about AI and fraud?

The 2025 10-K, filed March 2, 2026, says generative AI is making fraud detection more difficult, particularly for detection that relies on voice recognition or authentication, and that AI and machine-learning tools may add cyber, data-leakage and cost risks.

### Who runs fraud prevention at Pinnacle?

Doug Hromco, named chief security officer in May 2026 from Accenture, leads enterprise cybersecurity and fraud prevention, succeeding Synovus's long-time CSO Kevin Gowen. Caleb Callahan was senior director of Synovus's financial crimes unit when he spoke on fraud and AI in June 2025.
## Deeper on Pinnacle

- [What is Pinnacle Financial Partners' AI strategy?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/pinnacle/ai-strategy)
- [What client experience technology does Pinnacle use?](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/banks/pinnacle/client-experience-technology)


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