Britain proposes new powers for banks in fight against fraudsters
LONDON, Oct 3 (Reuters) -Britain is giving banks enhanced new powers to delay and investigate suspicious payments in a bid to slash the estimated 460 million pounds ($610 million) lost to fraud in the last year.
New laws proposed by the UK finance ministry on Thursday will enable banks to pause transactions for up to 72 hours where there are reasonable grounds to suspect a payment is fraudulent. Currently, banks must either process or refuse a payment by the end of the next business day.
"Hundreds of millions of pounds are lost to scammers each year, targeting vulnerable communities and ruining the lives of ordinary people," Economic Secretary to the Treasury Tulip Siddiq said in a statement.
"We need to protect these people better, which is why we are giving banks more time to investigate suspicious payments and break the criminal spell that scammers weave," she added.
The UK finance ministry said so-called 'romance scams' - in which fraudsters coax large amounts of cash from vulnerable people after faking a romantic connection - have increased instances of fraud, which now accounts for over a third of all crime in England and Wales.
Ben Donaldson, managing director of economic crime at trade body UK Finance, said the additional time would allow payment service providers to contact customers at risk.
"This could potentially limit the psychological harms that these awful crimes can cause and stop money getting into the hands of criminals," he said.
($1 = 0.7540 pounds)
Reporting by Sinead Cruise;
Editing by Sandra Maler
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
