05 은행, 의심스러운 지불에 4일간 보류

 

05 Banks, 4-day hold on suspicious payments

The government has announced that banks will be given the power to hold payments for up to four days to give them more time to investigate fraud.

Currently, transfers must be processed or declined by the end of the next business day, but the new law will extend this by a further three days.

For years, banks had to have reasonable grounds to suspect fraud before starting an investigation, but they have also faced pressure from customers who want to pay immediately.

The long-proposed new rules will come into effect at the end of October, later than originally planned.

The previous government’s draft bill proposed giving banks the new powers by October 7, but they will now come into effect later that month.

Romance

fraud is the most common crime in the UK, accounting for a third of all crime in England and Wales.

Criminals have stolen billions of pounds by tricking victims into transferring money through romance scams or by pretending to be genuine dealers.

Banks have been lobbying for permission to take longer to agree payments, so they can investigate suspicious transfers.

The new laws will give banks time to look at unusual spending patterns, contact customers and conduct further investigations before money is transferred.

Ben Donaldson, executive director of economic crime at UK Finance, which represents the banking industry, believes the new laws will be used “quite sparingly”.

“This is very relevant for investment fraud and romance fraud where there is psychological manipulation of the victim,” he told the BBC’s Today programme.

Some groups have said the powers should be used carefully and intensively.

The Association of Licensed Estate Agents said the four-day freeze was “seriously concerning” for people buying a home and needing to transfer large amounts of money quickly.

But Mr Donaldson said: “We will only use these powers where we have reasonable grounds to suspect fraud.”

Banks must notify customers when a payment is late, explain what they need to do to remove the block and pay compensation if the delay results in additional charges being incurred.

The rules come into force just weeks after a tougher regime for fraud compensation was introduced. Under the new powers, which come into effect on Monday, victims of fraud will be able to receive a refund of up to £85,000 from their bank within five days of being hit by an approved push payment scam,

down from the previous offer of £415,000.