Trustworthy handling of funds in legal services: A new standard for security and integrity
The cornerstone of Corporate Legal Services is trust, which extends beyond legal advice to encompass the secure handling of financial transactions.
Last week, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) announced it has commenced a consumer protection review. The report published emphasises the importance of trust in legal services, citing cases like Axiom Ince’s loss of £60m in client funds due to suspected dishonesty.
The SRA is considering significant measures, including whether to restrict firms from holding client money. This news is prompting firms to reconsider their current practices and explore alternative options, such as partnerships with regulated payment services, like Shieldpay, for secure fund handling.
Shieldpay, the payments partner for the legal sector, has designed specialised solutions to solve for the complexities of managing high value, complex payments and ensure transaction integrity.
Our payment solutions are configured from three core capabilities of our digital platform:
- Verify – We ‘Verify’ the trustworthiness of the parties involved in a transaction by carrying out robust KYC/KYB checks, as well as bank verification checks to ensure funds are received by the payee.
- Hold – We then receive and ‘Hold’ the funds in safeguarded accounts as required, either at Tier 1 banks or with banks that hold their funds at the Bank of England, ensuring the highest levels of security and compliance.
- Disburse – Finally, we safely and efficiently ‘Disburse’ the funds to payees, whether domestically or across borders and between currencies.
As the consumer protection review evolves, Shieldpay pledges to support the legal sector through webinars and consultations, aiming to set new standards for trust and efficiency. If you want to get involved in these conversations and share your views on the review, please get in touch.
To find out more about our solutions, visit shieldpay.com or contact the Business Development team at [email protected]
