New research shows that almost a quarter of financial services companies have violated ECCTA regulations directly, which makes them very vulnerable to the new crime of “preventing fraud” and nearly a third of companies fail to conduct due diligence with their clients.

These findings are part ofECCTA Regulatory Report‘Compliance Training Provider Skills Broadcastmore than 37,000 data points from 2,000 private limited UK companies in ten areas were analyzed.

In the financial services sector, transparency around people with significant control (PSCs). 26% of companies named a company PSC instead of a person, while nearly 4% had no PSC at all. It was also found that the two companies had been registered in the PO box, which was a disheartening practice under ECTA because it may have obscured the company’s accountability.

The survey results further show that 16% of the financial companies analyzed have overdue confirmation statements, while another 6% of the financial companies failed to submit their accounts on time. Currently, the Act is subject to serious penalty risks under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA).

Companies that enforce new “failure to prevent fraud” companies on ECTA will hold the entire organization operating in the UK accountable for failure to implement strict anti-fraud measures within September 1.

Keep the risky approach

According to separate research on digital verification platforms scholarship.

In fact, according to the findings in its report,ID breaks, growth breaks: UK verification barrier“, nearly 30% of UK businesses acknowledge that they do not require any documentation when interacting with businesses with a “recognized industry name”. More worrying is that 29% of organizations say they are interested in accepting the risk of working with completely unproven businesses.

Despite growing concerns about corporate identity theft, data breaches and fraud, more than 20% of businesses say they are not enforcing it due diligence The root – the reason is a lack of tools or knowledge.

Umazi’s report also reveals the persistence of outdated practices. 63% of businesses are still comfortable emailing sensitive information to third parties, while 73% say they believe the recipient can safely store the data.

In response, Umazi called on UK businesses to adopt a modern, digital-first approach to identity verification – a protection of reputational risks, regulatory scrutiny and financial damage.

Warn of fraud setbacks

Vivek DoddThe CEO of Skillcast commented on the company’s fraud investigation results: “The ECCTA has made clear legal obligations to large organizations to prove that they have reasonable procedures to prevent fraud, which means not only developing policies on paper.

“Our ‘results of investigations from ECTA regulatory reports’ should be a wake-up call to the financial services sector. It will take less than two months to enforce the new ‘failure to prevent fraud’ company criminal requirements, many companies operate under high-risk conditions, putting organizations under serious criminal liability.

“Without emergency action, these companies could risk serious reputational losses and financial impacts, conducting strong governance, due diligence, and business-critical training for fraud prevention training.”

Cindy van NiekerkUmazi’s CEO and founder added: “Not every business error can be cancelled. When a company interacts with an unverified partner, the consequences are not only a bad deal or temporary setback; it can lead to financial crashes, legal exposure, and, in the worst case, unnecessary liquidation.

“We’ve seen it again and again: a fraudulent vendor, a fake business identity, a leaked data breach, and suddenly the stable business disappeared. But, it’s totally preventable.”

“Tools exist. Digital verification is not a concept of the future – now here. We don’t need more cautionary stories. We need a cultural shift in which to gain trust through verification, not through reputation. This is not a problem to be solved later, now is the problem to be solved now.”