Government Technology - BANK WIZARD Absolute

BANK WIZARD Absolute

New weapon in the fight against benefit fraud

According to government estimates, benefit fraud cost the economy up to £700m in 2006-2007. As recent high profile benefit fraud cases have shown, this can be perpetrated by misdirecting electronic payments to inappropriate bank accounts.

While there is little doubt that the use of electronic transactions has improved the overall efficiency of payments and collections for government agencies, such as Direct Payment for benefits from DWP, it is clear that they have, at the same time, exposed these organisations to increased levels of risk, specifically fraud.

As an example, when applying for a benefit, claimants are required to provide paper-based proof of identity before a payment can be made by Direct Credit. Typically, this comprises a utility bill and bank statement. The same documentation is required when setting up a Direct Debit to pay for services such as Council Tax. An accomplished fraudster could easily forge or steal such documents and use them to set up false identities, with the aim of making multiple claims or making payments from accounts that do not belong to them.

Government strategies have long existed to reduce both fraud and error in the system. However, it can still be time-consuming and costly for individual agencies to validate the bank account details of members of the public who want to use electronic payments. This is where bank account verification technology, the next step in account validation, has an important role to play.

Electronic verification of bank account data is an important weapon in the fight against payment fraud. Eiger Systems is leading the way with BANK WIZARD Absolute, a new verification service that enables government agencies to make the connection between benefit claimants or council tax payers and their bank account at the time of application. BANK WIZARD Absolute checks the existence of a bank account and matches it to the correct owner by comparing the information provided by the applicant with data held by their bank. By confirming this connection in near real-time, the system can dramatically reduce the potential for payment fraud.

National and local government are continually under pressure to improve efficiency and better manage their finances. BANK WIZARD Absolute can help with both payments and collections, reducing fraud and streamlining processes.

For more information
Visit www.bwabsolute.com for further details.

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