Systems and methods for generating and implementing a real-time multi-factor authentication policy across multiple channels, are configured to: during a pre-authentication stage: receive, via a user interface, information defining one or more scenarios; receive, via the user interface, information defining one or more authentication flows; for each of the one or more scenarios, map one of the one or more authentication flows to a given scenario; and generate a multi-factor authentication policy associated with each of the one or more scenarios; and during a real-time authentication stage: upon receiving an interaction, identify, by a decision engine, a relevant scenario of the one or more scenarios; implement, by the decision engine, the multi-factor authentication policy associated with the relevant scenario; and determine, by the decision engine, an authentication result.