Swift, the interbank messaging system that hackers used to steal$81 million from Bangladesh last year, is developing apayment-screening service that will allow small member banks toautomate the flagging of suspicious payments.

The new service is part of a series of measures from theSociety for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication todefend against cyberattacks that aim to fraudulently use banks'connections to the messaging system. It will place a “red flag” onpayment messages that appear risky and spot anomalies, providereal-time alerts and allow customers to put a hold on unusualmessages, the cooperative said in an emailed statement onTuesday.

Swift aims to begin offering the service by early 2018. Itsprice will depend partly on how many banks adopt it, thecooperative said.