Recognise and prevent pension provider fraud
Transaction errors and fraud can lead to both financial loss and reputational damage. For example, an employee of a pension fund looted €75,000 from the employer in November 2021. The pension fund also had to incur €108,000 in costs for investigations and having financial statements redone.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!This makes it clear that pension funds are also affected by bank transaction fraud. This fraud case could have been prevented with SurePay’s Verification of Payee solution. Pension providers can largely prevent fraud and erroneous transactions by working with this additional control.
How was theft of corporate pension fund possible?
The employee defrauded €75,000 without being detected. Subsequent verification revealed that an account number was used that was not in the name of a beneficiary. The pension fund then hired an investigative agency and that is how the fraud came to light. This incident caused damage to the pension fund’s reputation, as it ended up in the media, and the €75,000 could not be recovered from the perpetrator.
Fraud is often preventable
Preventing wire transfer fraud is easy in many cases. If the beneficiary’s name does not match, a warning message is prompted. A so-called “no match” occurs. There may be a reason for the deviation, but such transactions should at least be looked at more closely by pension funds. After verification, the transaction is still executed, or adjusted or at this point an attempted fraud has been detected.
Verification of Payee is already deployed in all banking apps when transferring money to individuals. Many insurers such as Achmea and NN and also the (semi) government use the check to have certainty about the account numbers they do business with.
What are the benefits of Verification of Payee in business processes?
Making payment processes as secure as possible is essential for pension funds. The financial stakes are high and it is important to maintain the trust of customers and stakeholders. With Verification of Payee, fraud becomes more difficult. It also reduces the likelihood of errors. There may be several reasons why the beneficiary’s name does not match the account holder’s name, yet it is a cause for additional focus on these transactions. This is the main focus, but there are more benefits
Other benefits of Verification of Payee are:
- Switch Check – Receive a notification when a customer has switched to another bank. The new (correct) IBAN enters the records right away.
- Companies Check – At the Chamber of Commerce (KVK) the company is checked. This check helps with meeting AML and KYC/KYS requirements.
- Account Age Check – Understanding how long ago the account was opened. With newly opened accounts, there is an increased risk of fraud.
Verification of Payee already verifies 99.8% of payments in the Netherlands. This reduced the number of fraud cases attributable to bank accounts by 81%. It also prevents erroneous bookings. The Check reduced the number of errors with transfers by 67%. SurePay’s solution is also used by banks in France, Italty and the United Kingdom.
More interesting client case studies
Verification of Payee for Organisations helps Grolsch with preventing fraud
Following an attempted fraud at another international brewery, Grolsch started to use the IBAN-Name Check for Organisations.
Decrease in fraud and fake orders at STRATO
Since the introduction of Verification of Payee, we see over 80% less
fraudulent orders relative to
from a year earlier.
Mitros improves processes
by using Verification of Payee
Thanks to this solution, we know for sure
That we can get to the right person or
organisation pay.