published Archives - WRLO Accountants

New measures aim to ‘break the spell’ of fraudsters

WRLO Accountants — Sat, 06 Apr 2024 09:27:21 +0000

New measures aim to ‘break the spell’ of financial fraudsters by giving payment providers more time, according to draft legislation published by the government. Until now, payment service providers such as banks have generally been required to process payments by the end of the following business day, giving a limited timeline to investigate and alert relevant parties to possible fraud. The draft legislation will give payment service providers a further 72 hours to investigate payments, but only where there are reasonable grounds to suspect fraud or dishonesty. The legislation has been designed to minimise any impact on legitimate payments. The UK has seen an increase in authorised push payment fraud over the past few years – in 2022 victims lost £485 million to these scams. Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Bim Afolami, said: ‘Fraudsters spin whole webs of lies and fabricate all sorts of things to convince people to send them money – this legislation will give banks, other payment service providers and law enforcement more time to get in touch with victims and break the fraudster’s spell before money is sent. ‘The government is absolutely committed to tackling fraud and recognises the impact of this devastating crime on victims […]

The post New measures aim to ‘break the spell’ of fraudsters appeared first on WRLO Accountants.

Advisory fuel rates for company cars

WRLO Accountants — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 13:38:39 +0000

New company car advisory fuel rates have been published and took effect from 1 December 2023. The guidance states: ‘you can use the previous rates for up to one month from the date the new rates apply’. The rates only apply to employees using a company car. The advisory fuel rates for journeys undertaken on or after 1 December 2023 are: Engine size Petrol 1400cc or less 14p 1401cc – 2000cc 16p Over 2000cc 26p Engine size LPG 1400cc or less 10p 1401cc – 2000cc 12p Over 2000cc 18p Engine size Diesel 1600cc or less 13p 1601cc – 2000cc 15p Over 2000cc 20p HMRC guidance states that the rates only apply when you either: reimburse employees for business travel in their company cars require employees to repay the cost of fuel used for private travel. You must not use these rates in any other circumstances. The Advisory Electricity Rate for fully electric cars is 9p per mile. Electricity is not a fuel for car fuel benefit purposes. If you would like to discuss your company car policy, please contact us. Internet link: GOV.UK AFR

The post Advisory fuel rates for company cars appeared first on WRLO Accountants.

Number of cash transactions rises for first time in a decade

WRLO Accountants — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 15:53:33 +0000

The number of payments made with cash rose for the first time in a decade in 2022, according to data published by UK Finance. According to UK Finance, the total number of payments made last year increased to 45.7 billion from 40.4 billion in 2021. 50% of all payments in the UK were made using debit cards, and the number of cash payments rose to 6.4 billion. The data also showed that almost a third of all adults in the UK are registered for at least one mobile payment service and 86% of individuals use remote banking. Businesses’ payments accounted for 13% of all payments made in the UK during 2022, and consumers made 87% of all payments. Adrian Buckle, Head of Research at UK Finance, said: ‘During 2022 we saw increased use of contactless, online banking and mobile payments, although cost-of-living challenges meant that some people preferred to use cash to help with their budgeting. ‘Changes to shopping and travel habits, particularly related to the rise of hybrid working, led to a big jump in the volume of transactions made. Debit cards remain the most popular way of paying, with them now accounting for half of all payments made […]

The post Number of cash transactions rises for first time in a decade appeared first on WRLO Accountants.