LONDON, April 7, 2026, 13:07 BST
- Lloyds and IBM have wrapped up what Lloyds called the first-known quantum experiment to identify money mule networks.
- According to the companies, the nine-month trial ran anonymised transaction data through an IBM 156-qubit system and successfully picked out a mule network that had been planted in the data.
- UK regulators are keeping pressure on banks over mule-detection systems and tougher anti-fraud measures. The move arrives as those priorities stay front and center.
Lloyds Banking Group plc on Tuesday announced it had wrapped up what it calls the first-known trial of quantum computing to spot money mule networks—part of the bank’s push to toughen its fraud defenses. The bank partnered with IBM for a nine-month run, feeding anonymised transaction data into a 156-qubit machine. The result: the system successfully picked out a mule network intentionally hidden in the data.
Timing is key here. Money mules—people tapped to funnel stolen funds for criminals—often make scams possible. The Financial Conduct Authority in Britain hasn’t let up; keeping anti-mule systems and wider fraud safeguards on the front burner for banks and payment companies.
Lloyds put together a team of “Quantum Ambassadors” from inside the bank, linking them up with both economic crime experts and IBM researchers. The group tested out several quantum algorithms on a transaction graph—a sort of payments map—to check if patterns tied to known mule activity would stand out from the much wider sea of legitimate transactions. UKTN
Chief Operating Officer Ron van Kemenade pointed out, “Financial crime is becoming more complex and more network-driven.” He said the project managed to turn research into practical insights, and simultaneously helped the bank develop quantum skills in-house. UKTN
Scott Crowder, IBM’s VP for quantum adoption and business development, called the partnership a sign that banks are able to “conduct meaningful quantum research” even as the technology remains out of reach for daily use. FF News | Fintech Finance
This public result wraps up a project Lloyds put in the spotlight last October, after revealing a partnership with IBM to see if quantum tech could flag suspicious patterns more efficiently than traditional systems. Back then, Lloyds explained that quantum machines rely on qubits instead of standard bits—letting them process countless possible states at once. That’s especially handy for dense, multi-variable tasks, like mapping transaction networks.
Lloyds isn’t the only one making moves here. Last September, HSBC reported that its IBM-backed quantum computing pilot boosted bond-trade execution forecasts by as much as 34%—an indication that major lenders are actively hunting for targeted, practical applications, even as the technology remains far from mainstream production.
The short-term benefits are still murky. Back in October, Lloyds pointed out that today’s quantum machines aren’t generally beating classic computers, and it could take another five to ten years for the technology to hit the mainstream. So for now, much of the project is likely to stay on the research side—even as the bank contends with sharper scrutiny on its technology, after a glitch in March exposed the personal information of as many as 447,936 customers, Reuters reported last month.
Lloyds and IBM aren’t finished yet—they’re still looking into new possibilities as the technology matures. What’s less clear is if Lloyds can move from controlled lab success to something robust and scalable, ready for real-world fraud detection.
