Nacha Provides Guidance On Voice Payments, Cybersecurity

Nacha, the nonprofit that manages the movement of trillions of dollars in electronic payments, announced the debut of voice payments and cybersecurity resources on Thursday (Sept. 17).

The Payments Innovation Alliance, a membership group that includes financial institutions (FIs) and payment providers, has released “Voice Payments: An Introduction and Overview,” designed to deliver information on conversational payments and enabling technologies, including voice assistants and smart speakers.

While some banks enable voice technology to make payments, check account balances and make transfers, the technology raises concerns regarding security, data privacy and dispute resolution.

The second tool, “COVID-19 Best Fraud Prevention and Cybersecurity Practices,” is a Top 10 list of best practices to help companies protect themselves against COVID-19-related cyberthreats. It was developed by the Cybersecurity Response Project Team. The list includes: increase security for online meetings; be vigilant for potential malware; increase awareness of potential phishing and scams; verify charities and other nonprofits before donating; look out for scams related to government benefits; use clear communications with customers; exercise caution with peer-to-peer payment services; take cybersecurity measures when working remotely; exercise responsible management of hard-copy documents; and adapt business resiliency plans to COVID-19-related instances. 

Kimber Johnson, executive vice president of strategic alliances at GIACT, the Texas-based fraud detector, told PYMNTS that account validation is increasingly important as eCommerce continues to move online. She noted that verifications can also utilize information tied to payment history.

“Knowing if there have been recent NSF (insufficient funds) chargebacks can be indicative of how consumers manage their accounts and give insight as to whether that web debit might be at risk,” said Johnson.

Nacha was originally known as the National Automated Clearing House Association. The steward of the automated clearing house (ACH), a computer-based electronic network for processing transactions, managed 24.7 billion payments and saw nearly $56 trillion in value move across its network last year.

“We are pleased to bring together diverse industry experts to create tangible tools to help financial institutions and business end users alike,” said Jane Larimer, Nacha’s CEO, in a statement. “With its broad understanding of payments, the Alliance is the ideal industry environment for members to be both thoughtful and inclusive as we look to develop resources that can serve the entire financial services ecosystem.”