Our customers depend on payment systems being reliable and secure. Payments Integrity examines any factors which might threaten security or reliability, and develops checks and controls designed to eliminate risk and prevent disruptions.

Work areas include:

Business continuity
The World Trade Center attack in 2001, subsequent terrorist attacks elsewhere and extreme natural events such as Hurricane Katrina have increased the focus on the risks to payment systems. We have strengthened further our resilience against large-scale disruptions, and are working together with the authorities and the broader financial community in the UK and internationally. We have developed a Code of Conduct and a Plan to strengthen the circulation of cash during a pandemic.

Fraud Control
Protecting customers and members against fraud is a key activity. Click on this link for more information.

Settlement risk control
Together with our members, we are putting in place the necessary legal and operational tools to further reduce the impact if a member were to fail to settle what it owed to other members of the payment systems.

Standards and Interoperability
We work through UK and international standards bodies to agree and implement common standards across the industry. This enables processes to be streamlined, reducing the risk of manual errors. It also sets the foundation for tomorrow's payment systems which will need to be European or global in their reach.

Security
Sophisticated security measures help ensure that customer transactions are authentic and that confidentiality is maintained. In conjunction with other countries and with the authorities we are working with internet service providers and software companies to maintain customer protections on channels like internet banking.

Audit
Risk controls are of practical value only if their everyday use is regularly checked and procedures are monitored and improved in the light of experience and changes in practice. APACS audit function can provide such independent assurance enabling payment systems to ensure that their controls are in place and operating effectively.