The UK Government-backed Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) has teamed up with leading banks and technology firms to test digital verification as a means to combat spiralling levels of economic crime.
Some of the world’s leading finance and tech firms have come together to form a new industry coalition in the UK to fight economic crime through digital verification, the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) has announced today.
Companies including Amazon Web Services (AWS), A&O Shearman, Barclays, CRIF, Dun & Bradstreet, Ernst & Young, Experian, GLEIF, HSBC, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Lloyds Bank, Mastercard, Revolut, Santander and Yoti have confirmed their participation in the CFIT-led coalition, in addition to regulators such as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR). Together, they will undertake research and testing to find new ways to protect businesses and consumers from fraud, which is estimated to cost the UK economy billions every year.[1]
Digital verification is considered a key step in mitigating economic crime. An enhanced digital identity for businesses that can be shared and understood across institutions and sectors would help thwart fraudsters and create a more secure economy. The idea is to provide standardised and verified information about a business that is interoperable with other financial systems for data cross-referencing, enhanced authenticity checks and additional fraud detection tools.
CFIT’s coalition will work together on data-driven research and solutions that will pave the way to making enhanced digital verification a reality. This work will be informed by Lloyds Bank, NatWest Bank and Monzo, who will collaborate to deliver a proof of concept that tests the impact of a digital corporate ID, including a reduced scope for accounts to be offered to potential criminals. The final blueprint report with recommendations for how UK institutions could implement a digital verification solution is expected in March 2025.
This new initiative follows the success of CFIT’s inaugural coalition on Open Finance, which demonstrated the potential of data-sharing technology to deliver better financial outcomes for UK consumers and faster, more effective access to finance for SMEs. An industry-led Taskforce on Open Finance, chaired by CFIT, has identified commercially viable approaches to incentivise businesses to securely share their financial data to the benefit of businesses and consumers.
Commenting on the coalition:
Ezechi Britton MBE, CFIT CEO, said: “I am delighted that so many leading companies will be uniting to combat fraud, which can have a devastating impact on businesses and place immense stress on individuals. Their technical knowledge and expertise will empower CFIT to produce effective solutions that will protect organisations and consumers and make the UK economy more resilient. We look forward to supporting the new Labour government in delivering on its manifesto pledge to combat economic crime and drive economic growth.”
Sheldon Mills, FCA Executive Director, said: “The FCA is supportive of the new coalition and welcomes collective initiatives toward reducing financial crime. Innovation and technology including RegTech have a positive role to play in addressing fraud. Fraud can take a variety of forms and is continuously evolving. We recognise the need to protect consumers and businesses alike to ensure that the ecosystem is safe and secure, both of which are key to driving economic growth across the UK.”
Mike Regnier, Santander CEO, said: “Payments must be safe and secure to ensure our customers have protection against fraud, and businesses have the confidence to trade with them. Which is why it is important to deliver against these objectives. We share CFIT’s commitment to creating an ecosystem that employs digital verification and will collaborate with all coalition partners to achieve this.”
Elyn Corfield, Lloyds Banking Group CEO, Business & Commercial Banking, said: “We are eager participants in the new CFIT coalition, and I am delighted to see that fraud mitigation lies at the heart of its work. At Lloyds we recognise that digital verification has the potential to help protect businesses and consumers, and the important work to drive down fraud can only be tackled through cross-industry collaboration. We support CFIT’s mission and look forward to working with it on this key initiative.”
Sam Edge, AWS Global Head of Fintech for Startups, said: “Fraud negatively impacts both consumers and businesses, making up 40% of all crime in the UK. This cannot continue. Given the pivotal role of digital commerce in the growth of the UK economy, fraud must be effectively countered with industry-led solutions. AWS is committed to delivering, together with the coalition, workable remedies that counter fraud and enable businesses and consumers to trade safely and with confidence.”
Rory Tanner, Revolut Head of UK Government Affairs, said: “We share CFIT’s mission to counter economic crime and enable trade to flourish across the UK. It is vital that the coalition’s solutions are empirically sound and fully tested to ensure that they deliver the protections that businesses across the UK need to succeed. Revolut is committed to providing this and working with its coalition partners to bring the planned solutions to fruition.”
Robin Tombs, Yoti CEO, said: “Economic growth and free trade is hampered by insufficient consumer or business digital identity processes. The work that CFIT is leading will help to address this key issue and Yoti will support this in all respects. We look forward to the new Government taking forward this vital reform agenda as part of its drive for greater economic growth.”
Alexandre Kech, GLEIF CEO, said: “We are fully committed to leveraging our expertise in identity management to support CFIT’s coalition. The Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) and its digital counterpart, the verifiable LEI (vLEI), are essential tools in the global fight against financial crime. By enabling the unique identification and automatic verification of legal entities across different economic sectors and jurisdictions, the LEI and vLEI not only enhance transparency but also fortify the integrity of the global digital economy.”
Ed Thorne, Dun & Bradstreet Head of Europe, said: “We welcome the opportunity to join the CFIT coalition’s work to strengthen digital verification for businesses and help protect UK Financial Service businesses from financial fraud and economic crime. The Dun & Bradstreet D-U-N-S® number, a unique nine-digit identifier, can support the UK Digital ID, providing live business identity data to help businesses avoid potentially fraudulent situations.”
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[1]UK Finance estimated that around £1.2 billion was stolen from consumers in 2023.
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