Clear Junction, a cross-border payments solution provider, has launched a Confirmation of Payee (CoP) service that will boost the security of transactions, and is available to its clients receiving GBP payments in the UK.
Clear Junction’s CoP is being rolled out in phases across the industry, with the final phase scheduled for October 2024.
Clear Junction has introduced its CoP service a year ahead of the Payment Systems Regulator’s (PSR’s) mandatory schedule, which requires banks and building societies to adopt CoP, to tackle the rising threat of APP scams to individuals and businesses.
Dima Kats, chief executive officer of Clear Junction, said: “APP fraud has grown rapidly alongside the use of the real-time payments schemes in recent years. As an innovative service provider, Clear Junction is proud to be among the first few firms to tackle this challenge head on.
“We are committed to adjusting our controls to minimise the opportunities for bad actors to benefit from technological progress.”
UK Finance recently reported that in the first six months of this year, £239.4 million was lost to APP fraud, with the number of cases up 22%.
When a customer triggers a payment initiation request, CoP works by checking the name of the account to which payments are being made prior to the execution, thereby reducing certain types of fraud and misdirected payments that occur through user error, according to Clear Junction.
“We have a responsibility to ensure that any payments and transactions we facilitate or make on behalf of our clients adhere to regulations,” Kats added.
“The rollout of our new CoP service is just another way that we’re enhancing security and building trust into the financial ecosystem.”
Chris Hemsley, managing director at the regulator, said reporting the data should encourage firms to “take more action” to tackle APP fraud.
