PayPoint has revealed the volume of unauthorised cheque fraud increased by almost a quarter (24%) in 2023 in, despite the overall value of the scams dropping.

Jo Toolan, managing director, Client Services at PayPoint, said the rise of individual cases is at a “worrying rate”.

She continued: “These merciless crimes often affect some of the most vulnerable in our society and the efforts of the private and public sector to curtail them must continue.”

Toolan added that PayPoint’s Open Payments service “reduces the reliance on paper cheques”, thus making the process more resistant to fraud attempts.

She explained: “[Open Payments] is an easy, fast and secure means for customers to receive their payment directly into their current account. Additionally, it’s more convenient than cashing the cheque and removes the ability for a fraudster to do so on their behalf.”

PayPoint’s Open Payments service is a direct-to-bank digital alternative to making payments by cheques. The open banking technology requires the recipient’s name and mobile phone number, then the payments can be made directly into a recipient’s bank account.

These payments do not require the payer to hold any customers’ bank account details, while at the same time removing the need to issue paper cheques.

For added security the service performs a Confirmation of Payee (CoP) check requiring the recipient’s name to match the name of the bank account holder before the payment is transferred. Through the portal, clients can issue, cancel or reissue payments instantly while being able to track payments and download reports.

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