Regulatory programme delivery

The challenge

After an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the rules that governed the time taken to clear cheques in the UK were changed. As a result, changes were required to the back office processes of over 400 banks in the UK. The Cheque and Credit Clearing Company (part of the Payments Council) was charged with overseeing the delivery of these changes. An ArrowPM partner led the programme.

Activity / solution

• Engaged with 12 'clearing banks' in the UK and established strong stakeholder relationships with each.
• Established a clear and robust governance structure that enabled all 400+ banks to be represented via their clearing bank.
• Designed and planned 6 individual projects that collectively enabled the delivery of the OFT’s requirements.
• Oversaw the delivery of the tranches (winning an award along the way).
• Led the review and update of the cheque clearing rules.

Results

The programme was delivered on time and on budget with an innovative new logistics solution for unpaid cheques being implemented as part of the solution. A number of the banks involved also used the programme as an opportunity to review and rationalise their cheque clearing processes.

Benefits were delivered for the poorer members of society who rely on cheques to access their money in a timely fashion.

In addition to delivering the aims of the programme, as a result of the new processes and logistics solution implemented, the level of fraud associated with cheques fell significantly and remains far lower today than it was before the programme.