Speed – an advantage or a risk?

[img_assist|nid=7968|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=66|height=100]As it was announced earlier a new Faster Payment system was introduced in the UK banking sector to enable customers to make instant payments within shorter time than before.

At the moment the system covers 5 percent of payments which are expected to increase to 50 percent by the end of August and all payments are predicted to be covered by the end of 2008.

In spite of all advantages it offers, it is a speed feature that is convenient but dangerous at the same time because the banks will have less time to pick up on any suspicious or unusual activity.

“The Faster Payment system will be a challenge for banks which could lead to increased risk of fraud, as it will be harder for banks to detect and block fraud in the time window available. The existing process relies, in part, on banks having sufficient time to detect suspicious transactions,” notes one official.

“With more than 20million customers regularly using internet banking, increasing online safety is clearly a priority.’ APACS also said: ‘As with any payment system there is no room for error as it will be an integral part of the UK’s economic infrastructure,” he adds.