Action Fraud (the UK’s national fraud and cyber-crime reporting centre) reported a 400% increase in coronavirus-related fraud reports in March 2020 alone and data breaches have further accelerated in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, with fraudsters preying on people spending longer in digital environments.

So how can we ensure we are protecting our Bacs payments in the most secure way possible? Let’s take a look…

Integration

A solution that has the ability to seamlessly integrate into your existing systems (whether that be at file-based level or more deeply with API connectivity), will enable you to easily customise and align with your own policies and procedures, giving you totally flexible and keeping you in control.

Validation of data

Bank data validation is a crucial addition to your Bacs processes, preventing payment errors before they enter the processing stage.

Used at the point of collecting bank details, bank data validation checks account detail accuracy. It enables processors to catch bank detail errors sooner, highlighting any invalid fields, controlling the quality of payment data at source. But the benefits are not just around security of payments, they reach far beyond…

• Avoids payment delays – Validating the data eliminates rejected payments and prevents failed or delayed submissions with processes becoming more efficient.
• Reduces investigation and repair costs – With significantly improved accuracy, error-related costs and hassle is eliminated.
• Customer satisfaction – With fewer errors, failed payments and time efficiencies, customers are more satisfied with the service they receive, resulting in better reputations. It also achieves a faultless process for employees too.

Easy to implement and delivering fast return on investment, bank data validation can improve not only business processes but customer experience. With so many benefits, bank data validation is an essential tool for protecting your Bacs payments.

Encryption

Encryption ensures only authorised parties can read your payment and collection data, which is crucial not just from a common-sense perspective, but it’s also a requirement under tough GDPR guidelines. Ensure you understand how your payment solution encrypts your data, both in transit through the process as well as when its stored (at rest) so you have piece of mind that your data is safe at all stages.

Remain compliant

Staying compliant with regulations is crucial. With the payments industry changing so fast, its more important than ever to stay on top of new regulations and initiatives. A solution that can deliver compliance as an integrated guarantee is unrivalled. Not only does this give you complete peace of mind but it will also protect your business amid regulatory changes today and in the future.

As one of the first Bacs-approved software providers, we’ve been helping businesses protect their payments and stay compliant for almost half a century. For dependable and honest advice on protecting your payments, speak to one of our experts.

Catch up on our recent blog “How does bank validation work and what are the key benefits to your business”.