Confirmation of Payee expanded to hundreds more UK firms

The UK’s Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has announced that hundreds of additional financial firms have adopted the name-checking service, Confirmation of Payee (CoP). This expanded rollout means that over 99% of all transactions made through Faster Payments and CHAPS are now safeguarded by this anti-fraud measure. 

In just the first half of 2024, over £213m was lost to Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud, where people are tricked into sending money to fraudsters posing as genuine payees. With CoP now widely in place, consumers can expect name checks to be the norm when sending money to new accounts, helping ensure their payments reach the right person or business. PSR says it’s essential that people remain cautious, vigilant, and responsive to warnings from their bank or payment provider when making payments. 

CoP is a Pay.UK service, and as the Payment Systems Operator, Pay.UK has created the rules and standards for CoP, supporting the industry with its expansion. Mandating this widespread adoption of CoP is part of the PSR’s broader efforts to combat APP fraud. On 7 October, new mandatory reimbursement rules came into effect, making it quicker and simpler for victims of APP fraud to get back money they have lost to criminals, with a guaranteed minimum level of protection in place. These rules also incentivise payment firms to innovate and implement stronger fraud prevention methods. 

Tackling fraud is a collective effort that extends beyond just payments. In addition to its annual APP fraud performance data, the PSR has been collecting data on how fraud starts. Later in 2024, the regulator will publish this data to raise awareness about the different ways fraudsters can target victims, including through social media platforms. By sharing this information, the PSR aims to raise greater consumer awareness and encourage wider accountability and action from other parties in the chain to prevent fraud from happening in the first place. 

“We’re tackling fraud from multiple angles – ensuring widespread checks and safeguards, implementing strong reputational and financial incentives for industry action, and promoting better data and intelligence sharing,” said Kate Fitzgerald, Head of Policy at the PSR. “Expanding Confirmation of Payee to more firms is a crucial step in our ongoing work to protect consumers and drive fraud out of the UK’s payment systems.” 

 

ECB looks for innovation partnerships for the digital euro

As part of the preparations for the possible issuance of a digital euro, the ECB is establishing an innovation platform to collaborate with stakeholders. These may include small and large merchants, banks, other payment service providers, fintech companies, financial institutions, research institutes, technical experts and universities. The main goals of the partnerships are to:

• Demonstrate how “conditional payments” could be implemented on a technical level (i.e. between a simulated digital euro back-end and a front-end provider).
• Provide the opportunity for participants to interact with simulated digital euro interfaces.
• Explore additional use cases, ideas and visions that stakeholders may have for the digital euro.

There are two types of partnerships the ECB is setting up - pioneer partnerships and visionary partnerships. Pioneers will test how conditional payments could look on a simulated technical infrastructure of a digital euro. Pioneers will be independent from the ECB and will have a standardised contract that includes data protection and IP rights and regulating promotional activities. They will be able to conduct technical testing based on their interests. Pioneers will receive an onboarding package that includes a functional introduction (e.g., user journeys) and technical specifications. They will also receive technical support on a best-efforts basis.

The pioneers are expected to implement conditional payments use cases using the technical infrastructure that will be provided by the ECB. This technical infrastructure is planned to be available by February 2025. The exercise is foreseen to run until May 2025, and pioneers are invited to submit an outcome report by the end of that month. The ECB may then incorporate it into its own outcome report. At the end of the partnerships, the ECB may invite selected pioneers to an on-site event to showcase the outcome to project stakeholders.

Meanwhile, visionaries will conduct theoretical work to explore topics such as innovative use cases, community impact and social factors involving multiple stakeholders with different backgrounds. The partnerships will focus on a theoretical investigation of use cases for the digital euro and its social impact. The most coherent applications that fit into the digital euro framework and have innovative potential will be selected for half-day workshops with the ECB digital euro project team. Every vision should outline how a concrete problem is solved by the digital euro or describe a challenge that has yet to be addressed. Applicants are expected to base their ideas on publicly available information on the digital euro. 

The ECB expects to select visionaries in early January 2025, with the workshops starting shortly afterwards. At the end of the partnerships, the ECB may invite selected visionaries to an on-site event to showcase the outcome to project stakeholders.

 

Firms amplifying the CISO role and prioritising savvy boards to tackle cyber threats 

Cybersecurity is increasingly becoming a cornerstone of many organisations’ growth strategies and business plans amid today’s advanced and complex threat landscape, according to Deloitte’s Global Future of Cyber survey. The findings from the fourth edition of the survey show how decision-makers are shifting their responses to cyber threats. Among other strategies, businesses are increasing the responsibility and strategic influence assigned to chief information security officers (CISOs), promoting further involvement from the board on cybersecurity-related matters, and turning to measures like artificial intelligence (AI).

In recent years, the ever-evolving tech environment has led Deloitte to identify organisations based on their level of cyber-maturity in the survey findings. Key indicators of a high-performing, cyber-mature organisation include increased efforts of cyber planning, implementation of key cybersecurity activities, cyber engagement at the board level, and deployment of AI within their cyber programmes. This year’s survey reinforces the urgency of securing cyber systems, as 25% of respondents from cyber-mature businesses reported 11 or more cybersecurity incidents in the past year, a 7% increase of incidents since the 2023 survey.

Stemming from the climbing number of cyberattacks, the report underlines the growing responsibilities CISOs have as essential allies to their CEOs and boards, particularly as their influence expands across an increasingly tech-savvy C-suite. One aspect making the role exceedingly important has been the growing wave of AI-generated threats, which can target enterprises to exploit vulnerabilities by impersonating trusted sources. While the CISO’s expertise gains value, organisations are simultaneously turning to AI-enabled tools to strengthen cybersecurity and combat risks. 

Around one-third of respondents reported a significant increase in CISO involvement during strategic conversations about tech-related capabilities in the past year. Over the last decade, CISOs have traditionally reported to the chief information officer (CIO). However, they are increasingly gaining the ear and trust of CEOs, as 20% of decision-makers revealed their CISOs now report directly to their CEO. Cyber is playing a large role in securing an organisation’s investment in tech capabilities, particularly when it comes to priority areas such as cloud (48%), Generative AI (41%), and data analytics (41%). On average, 39% of respondents are using AI capabilities in their cybersecurity programmes to a large extent.

Organisations continue to embrace cyber as an essential component of their enterprise tech stack, budgeting strategies, and future business plans. They also increasingly rely on technology-driven programmes to fuel growth and innovation. As business leaders realise the potential of cyber, the report finds the top three expected outcomes from cybersecurity initiatives are protecting intellectual property (46%), improving threat detection and response (44%), and increasing efficiency and agility (44%). Overall, 83% of respondents agree or completely agree that measures like qualitative risk assessments and benchmarking are an integral part of their overall cybersecurity strategy. Some 58% of respondents also expect to begin integrating cybersecurity spending with budgets for other programmes, such as digital transformation initiatives, IT programmes, and cloud investments.

“This year’s report highlights how the connection between cybersecurity and business outcomes continues to grow stronger, enabling cyber to have greater impacts in achieving organisational objectives,” said Emily Mossburg, Deloitte Global Cyber Leader. “The increased reliance organisations have on their technology-driven programmes is evolving the CISO roles and their cyber initiatives into essential components in driving business growth in a tech-powered future.”

 

Nacha looks to define and shape the future of Pay by Bank

Nacha’s Payments Innovation Alliance, a membership programme that brings together diverse global stakeholders seeking to transform the payments industry, is to address the question “What is Pay by Bank?” through a new project team open to all existing and new Alliance members.

Nacha’s latest consumer research shows that while only 13% of consumers are familiar with the term “Pay by Bank” over half report using it once they understand its meaning. Awareness and usage are even higher among younger consumers aged 22-34: nearly a quarter recognise the term, and 72% say they have used Pay by Bank when it’s explained to them.

Earlier this month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a rule on Personal Financial Data Rights that it said could help enable Pay by Bank payments. The rule will require financial institutions to make available through electronic interfaces the routing and account information needed to initiate ACH and other payments.  This could ultimately expand the number of customers using Pay-by-Bank options.

“Pay by Bank has become a common industry term of art over the past several years, but there is not yet industry consensus on what it means,” said Michael Herd, Executive Vice President of ACH Network Administration at Nacha. “Nacha’s Payments Innovation Alliance is well-positioned to take on this question and to identify any operational, risk and educational issues associated with Pay by Bank payments that also should be addressed.”

 

Centime adds expense management with Fyle partnership

Centime, a Boston-based fintech that offers cash management solutions to small to midsize businesses, has announced a partnership with Fyle, an expense management provider. This partnership expands Centime's platform to include expense management, offering finance teams full control over cash flow and spending.

Centime's cash management helps companies streamline AP, AR, and banking. Now, with Fyle's advanced expense tracking, reporting, and reimbursement capabilities, Centime says it offers a single solution that handles every aspect of financial operations.

As businesses scale, managing employee expenses isn't just an operational need—it's a core part of cash management. Real-time visibility and control over spending are essential for optimising working capital. This partnership aims to help CFOs automate expense approvals, enforce policies, and gain instant visibility into spending while keeping cash flow in check.

“Expense management is vital to any CFO’s cash strategy,” said BC Krishna, CEO and Founder of Centime. “Our partnership with Fyle delivers a comprehensive approach to managing not just payables and receivables, but now employee expenses as well. We’re tackling cash management from all angles, to give CFOs clear line-of-sight and control across all their cash inflows and outflows.”

 

RMB drops to fifth most active global payments currency

Swift’s RMB Tracker has shown that in September 2024, the RMB dropped to the fifth most active currency for global payments by value, with a share of 3.61%. Overall, RMB payment value decreased by 23.55% compared to August, while all payment currencies decreased by 0.67%. Regarding international payments, excluding payments within the Eurozone, the RMB ranked sixth with a share of 2.57% in September.

The tracker uses data from live and delivered MT 103 and MT 202 - customer-initiated and institutional payments - and ISO equivalent messages exchanged on Swift. RMB’s fifth place out of all international currencies in September saw it behind the US dollar (47.01% of all global payments value), the euro (22.56%), the British pound (7.41%), and now the Japanese yen, which moved ahead of RMB with 4.27% of all global payments value.

As a global currency in the trade finance market, based on live and delivered inter-group only MT 400 and MT 700 messages exchanged on SWIFT, RMB dropped to third place based on value, accounting for 5.66% of September’s trade finance transactions. This field remains dominated by the US dollar (83.25%), while the euro (5.70) also snuck ahead of RMB.

Regarding FX spot transactions, RMB was September’s fifth most used currency for FX confirmations. The US dollar claimed the top spot, followed by the euro, pound and yen. In terms of the top economies carrying out FX spot transactions in RMB, the UK came out on top in September (37.66%), followed by the US (14.99%), Hong Kong (11.73%), France (9.03%), and China (8.91%).