FCA sets out new money laundering measures

To do this, the regulator brought together partners including the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), industry and government – with the measures designed to strengthen controls. These measures include a move toward card-based transactions and away from paying-in slips, to allow for enhanced monitoring, and upskilling staff to spot patterns of suspicious activity. 

Additionally, it’s looking to enhance monitoring capabilities in banks, reduce cash deposit limits at the Post Office – subject to customer arrangements – to below the existing limit of £20,000 per transaction and reduce the time taken to submit Suspicious Activity Reports to the National Crime Agency. Finally, it said it wants to see an improvement in intelligence sharing.  

The NECC estimates hundreds of millions are laundered each year through the cash deposit channel at the Post Office.  

The FCA’s executive director of consumers and competition Sheldon Mills said: “We have worked in partnership with law enforcement, industry and government to ensure people and businesses can still draw on the vital cash banking services provided by the Post Office, while addressing gaps that criminals could abuse.

“This important work is part of the FCA’s three-year strategy on reducing financial crime and increasing consumer protection.” 

The FCA expects banks and the Post Office to keep their controls, including those that are newly introduced, under review to ensure they’re proportionate to the risk and are suitable for their customer base, using data to refine measures where needed as the money laundering risks evolve. 

These safeguards will then be tested by the regulator and this work will consider whether firms have taken steps to protect access to cash at the Post Office for legitimate customers.