Card fraud unit celebrates 5th year
April 27, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Credit-Cards
Apacs, the UK payment association, is celebrating the fifth anniversary of one of the UK’s leading anti-fraud squads.
The Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit (DCPCU) was established in 2002 with the task of cracking down on cheque, debit and credit card fraud.
Since it was first introduced, initially as a two-year pilot, the DCPCU has been responsible preventing £130 million worth of fraudulent activity and secured 156 convictions.
Apacs and its member banks sponsor the specialist police unit and the organisation says that the DCPCU plays a massive role in reducing fraud.
“The Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit has been an important initiative to cut fraud over the last five years and I am delighted at the successes they have had,” said Home Office minister Vernon Coaker.
“The banking industry must also take credit for these successes. Their financial support for this unit provides an excellent example of how a public/private partnership can work together to create a valuable addition to law enforcement when tackling organised financial crime.”
The DCPCU’s fifth birthday falls on April 29th 2007.
Association supports government plan regarding unclaimed assets
April 25, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Banking
The government in the UK has recently proposed an initiative in relation to unclaimed banking assets, and the British Banker’s Association has confirmed that the banking industry is backing this initiative.
The banking industry has been finalising technical details relating to the initiative with the cooperation of the government, and consumers are being given priority so that they can reclaim their money whenever they want to.
The Chief Executive of the BBA, Angela Knight, stated: ‘The banking industry has been in a detailed discussion with the Government since the 2005 Pre-Budget Report on the introduction of an unclaimed assets scheme for bank and building society accounts with the aim of getting the technical detail right on their initiative.
All along our priority has been the protection of the right of customers to reclaim their monies at any time. A key element of the approach proposed within the consultation paper therefore is that even after the transfer of their ‘unclaimed assets’ individuals will retain the right to reclaim their monies via their bank or building society as at present.’
According to the BBA banks will continue to effectively deal with customers to minimize on the number of claims that have to be moved over to a central account and to minimise on inconvenience. The regulations mean that any unclaimed assets will them be moved into a central fund after fifteen years if no claim has been made.
At present there are hundreds of millions of pounds in UK banks that remains unclaimed, and it is thought that every year tens of millions more may be left unclaimed. Authorities also plan a consultation later this year to decide upon distribution of unclaimed funds.
Tom Smith
25th April 2007
