CM July and August 2023 digital

NEWS ROUNDUP
Growing concerns over AML as UK
consumers hunt the web for info
UK consumers are increasingly
concerned about the issue of money
laundering, illustrated by a 97 percent
increase in Google search interest for
Anti-Money Laundering (AML)-related
keywords.
Credas Technologies has analysed
global Google Trends data for search
terms related to AML to see how the
subject’s Interest Score has changed
since the start of the year.
Interest Scores represent search
interest relative to the highest point on
the chart for the given region and time.
A value of 100 indicates peak popularity
for the term. A value of 50 means that
the term is half as popular. And so on.
In January 2023, the worldwide
Interest Score for the subject of AML
was 12.5; in May, the score was 17.1,
representing a 37 percent increase in
interest. The strongest current Interest
Score is coming from India with May’s
data showing a score of 21.5. Australia
and UAE both have Interest Scores of
12.3, and Canada scores 10.3. The UK’s
score of 8.7 places it mid-table, but it
also marks a 97 percent increase in
search interest since the start of the
year.
Tim Barnett, CEO of Credas
Technologies, says the issue of money
laundering is growing in the public
consciousness: “The digitisation of
monies and payments has opened up
a whole new world of possibilities for
criminals looking to clean their illegal
funds. The subject of AML is, therefore,
more prevalent than ever before and is
now a hot topic in industries such as
property, banking, and e-commerce.
“Here in the UK, we’re not quite at the
top of the AML game when it comes to
awareness and knowledge, and as we
speak, there are hundreds of criminals
looking to take advantage of this fact.”
“The digitisation
of monies and
payments has
opened up a
whole new world
of possibilities for
criminals looking
to clean their
illegal funds.’’
UK firms lose 71 days a year chasing
late payments – at a cost of £27bn
UK businesses are
spending over 71 days
per year – more than a
quarter of the working
year – chasing late
payments, according to
the annual European Payment Report
from credit management services
provider Intrum.
The 26th edition of Intrum’s report
surveyed more than 10,000 companies
across 29 European countries,
shedding light on the challenges
that businesses are grappling with in
challenging economic conditions.
Its findings show the time spent
chasing late payments by UK
businesses is costing the economy
more than £27bn a year. In addition,
the payment gap (the time between
agreed terms and actual payment) has
risen across all business types.
On average, consumers are taking
10 days to pay invoices, up from seven
last year. Businesses are taking 17 days,
up from 13 in 2022, and public sector
organisations are taking 20 days to pay
invoices, three days more than they
were last year. Six in 10 UK businesses
(61 percent) expect late payments to
increase in the next 12 months.
Eddie Nott, Intrum’s Managing
Director for the UK and Ireland, says
late payments pose a significant
challenge to businesses: “The practice
becomes a vicious cycle, as firms
hampered by late payments pay their
own suppliers later and later, further
exacerbating the problem.”
More than half of UK firms (56
percent) say the payment terms they
offer suppliers are harming them
as a business. A similar number (54
percent) said they are paying their
suppliers later than they would accept
from their own customers. While
55 percent would like to pay their
suppliers quicker, this is not currently
feasible for their business.
At the same time, UK firms are
facing increasing demands from
cash-strapped workers seeking aboveaverage
pay increases. Almost all
businesses surveyed (91 percent) said
their employees have already asked for
a higher-than-normal pay rise or they
expect them to ask for one soon.
Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of
UK businesses say getting paid faster
could help them to prioritise their
sustainability performance, helping
to contribute to a stronger, greener
economy, rather than needing to focus
on efficiency.
The most common action UK
businesses take to chase down debt is
legal action (60 percent) while four in
10 (40 percent) have clear internal debt
recovery processes. Only 12 percent
are working with external collection
agencies.
“Late payments have always plagued
businesses but what was once an
inconvenience has now become a
top priority,” Eddie adds. “Resources
that could be used to invest in growth,
digital transformation and hiring are
being diverted to ensure firms get paid.
This is costing the UK economy £27bn
a year in wasted time.”
Brave | Curious | Resilient / www.cicm.com / July & August 2023 / PAGE 8