Increase of Paperless Transactions Concerns Finance Professionals

Payments fraud is always on the radar for worriers of the payments industry.

It’s usually for good reason too, considering online scammers and security hackers are constantly trying to get the leg-up on the latest payment trend.

Thus, it becomes an increasingly difficult endeavor to tackle, the attempt to keep fraudsters at bay.

According to a recent survey conducted by TD Bank, at the NACHA PAYMENTS 2016 conference in Phoenix, Arizona, the challenge is more complicated than ever before.

88 percent of conference attendees surveyed conceded that payments fraud would become a bigger problem to the financial services sector over the next few years. Despite this prediction, just one in ten attendees claimed an effective solution is currently in place.

“Even as the threat of payments fraud increases, many firms are not ready to thwart what could be an influx of cases within the next 24 months,” said Rick Burke, Head of Corporate Products and Services, TD Bank. “Corporate treasurers need to have conversations with their banking partners to establish controls within their payments processing and accounts, and find better ways to implement layered defenses and detect fraudulent activity.”

As the shift progresses from paper to electronic, vigiliance over payments security will be absolutely paramount.

“As commercial finance professionals look to improve time and process efficiencies and manage cybersecurity threats, they should look to collaborate with their bankers,” Burke said. “The faster payments move, the riskier they become, so it will be critical for financial institutions to continue to provide both education and new solutions for many years to come.”