Ecommpay has urged the government to broaden its response on children and social media to include online fraud that begins on social platforms. The payments company argues that scams targeting young people often start long before any transaction reaches a financial provider.

The intervention followed the Prime Minister’s announcement on child safety online. Ecommpay said the public debate has focused too narrowly on harmful content and has not fully addressed how fraudsters reach young users through social media services.

Willem Wellinghoff, chief compliance officer at Ecommpay, said the financial sector regularly deals with the end result of scams that originate elsewhere. By the time a payment is attempted, he said, fraud and deception are often already under way.

“Ecommpay welcomes the Prime Minister’s commitment to deliver a ‘game-changer’ policy on children’s safety online. This is an important and overdue moment, and we strongly support any initiative that compels the major tech and social media platforms to take greater responsibility for the welfare of young people on their services.

“From our position in the financial ecosystem, however, we see something that the current debate does not yet fully capture: fraud and scams that eventually land on the financial services sector very often begin not at the point of payment, but far earlier, on social media. Young people are deliberately and systematically targeted by fraudsters and scammers through the very platforms now under scrutiny. By the time a victim reaches a financial transaction, the manipulation and deception have already taken place. The financial services sector is dealing with the consequences of harms that originate elsewhere in the chain.

“This is why we strongly urge government to ensure that the approach to online fraud does not sit solely within financial services regulation. The government’s own Fraud Strategy 2026-2029 rightly recognises the need for a system-wide, cross-sector response built on the pillars of disruption, safeguarding and effective enforcement, and we believe that spirit must now be applied directly to the social media environment in which so many fraud journeys begin.

“Protecting children from harmful content and protecting them from financial predators are not separate agendas. We call on government, regulators, the technology sector, society and the financial industry to collaborate far more actively on this issue, because no single sector can solve it alone. The tech giants must be part of that conversation and must be held to the same standards of duty of care that we in financial services are already expected to meet.”

Fraud pathway

Ecommpay’s position reflects a wider view within financial services that online fraud should be treated as a cross-sector issue rather than one confined to banks, payments groups and other regulated providers. That argument has gained ground as scams increasingly begin through messaging apps, social networks and digital platforms rather than traditional banking channels.

Young people are particularly exposed, Ecommpay said, because social media gives fraudsters direct access to large audiences and allows deceptive approaches to be disguised as ordinary online interaction. The company is calling for social media groups to face a level of accountability similar to that applied to financial firms when harms arise on their services.

The government’s fraud strategy, cited by Wellinghoff, sets out disruption, safeguarding and enforcement as central pillars of its approach. Ecommpay said those principles should now be applied more directly to platforms where many scam journeys begin, with greater emphasis on prevention at the point where victims are first targeted.

Sector pressure

The comments also highlight a longstanding tension between the technology and financial sectors over responsibility for fraud losses. Banks and payments companies have often argued that they bear the operational and reputational cost of scams that begin on online platforms, while those platforms face less direct scrutiny for their role in the chain.

For payments companies, that debate matters because fraud often appears only at the end of a longer process of grooming, impersonation or deception. By the time a suspicious payment is identified, the victim may already have been persuaded that the transfer is legitimate, limiting the effectiveness of checks applied only at the payment stage.

Ecommpay, founded in London in 2012, operates in payment processing and acquiring. Its intervention brings a payments provider into a policy discussion that has largely centred on child protection, platform governance and content moderation, while adding financial crime prevention to the agenda.

The company said the two issues should not be treated separately. “The tech giants must be part of that conversation and must be held to the same standards of duty of care that we in financial services are already expected to meet,” Wellinghoff said.

SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

FICO reported a rise in missed credit card payments in the UK in March, pointing to worsening strain on household finances.

Its latest market data showed average credit card spending fell 6.6% month on month to £740, while the share of balances repaid dropped to 33%. Average active balances edged down 0.8% from the previous month to £1,925, but remained 4.3% higher than a year earlier.

The sharpest deterioration came in early arrears. The percentage of customers missing one payment rose 29.5% from February, while the share missing two payments increased 11.3% month on month and 14.3% year on year.

Accounts with one, two or three missed payments all recorded slightly lower average balances than in the previous month, but each category remained above levels seen a year earlier. That marks a shift from the improvement visible in the same period last year.

The data covers card performance reported through FICO’s Benchmark Reporting Service and is drawn from reports generated by its TRIAD Customer Manager system, used by about 80% of UK card issuers.

Spending pressure

March is usually shaped by seasonal spending patterns ahead of Easter, but the latest figures also reflect broader pressure on consumers. FICO linked weaker spending and payment performance to a fuel crisis tied to disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, which has pushed up petrol and diesel costs.

That pressure showed up in both customer behaviour and balance trends. Although active balances fell modestly after Christmas, they have stayed elevated compared with the same period last year, suggesting borrowers have not materially reduced their reliance on revolving credit.

The repayment picture was also weak. The proportion of balances repaid slipped 1% from the previous month and was 3.7% lower than a year earlier, continuing a seasonal decline typically seen before summer.

The year-on-year decline in repayment rates has narrowed from the 6% to 7% falls recorded through much of last year. Even so, payment levels remain low by recent standards.

Rising arrears

For lenders, the more pressing issue is the increase in delinquency. The rise in customers missing one payment echoed a similar jump recorded in March last year, raising the prospect that a seasonal pattern is becoming more severe rather than easing.

The increase in customers with two missed payments is likely to draw particular scrutiny because it can signal that temporary payment difficulty is turning into more persistent financial stress. A year-on-year increase in that category suggests the problem is not confined to a single monthly fluctuation.

FICO also highlighted that all delinquency categories were higher than a year earlier. While the growth rate of delinquent balances has moderated, especially among accounts with two and three missed payments, the overall market picture still points to structural affordability pressure.

That leaves banks and card issuers weighing whether the March spike in early arrears will feed through into more serious defaults in the months ahead. Collections and risk teams are likely to watch closely how many customers who have missed one payment move into two or three missed payments as seasonal spending rises through spring and summer.

The figures add to evidence that unsecured consumer credit remains under strain, even where some month-on-month indicators have stabilised. Lower spending does not necessarily signal stronger finances when repayment rates are also falling and arrears are increasing.

Average balances on delinquent accounts remain above last year’s levels, meaning lenders may be dealing with larger sums once customers fall behind. That can make collections more complex, particularly if higher fuel and transport costs continue to squeeze disposable income.

“An area of concern for risk teams will be the notable increases in March across early and mid-stage late-payment categories. The sharp 29.5% month-on-month increase in customers missing one payment reflects a recurring pattern of March stress that was also evident in 2025. The 14.3% year-on-year increase in customers with two missed payments is especially notable and warrants careful monitoring to assess whether this represents a seasonal spike or a more sustained deterioration,” FICO said.

Radley’s entire UK store estate has been placed under threat in a fresh blow to the high street, with all 21 shops facing closure, says The Sun.

The British handbag and accessories brand, known for its Scottie dog logo and leather handbags, is expected to shut its remaining standalone stores nationwide despite having been rescued in a recent takeover deal.

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This move puts dozens of retail jobs at risk across the country as the company shifts its focus towards online sales and wholesale channels, according to The Sun.

So far, there have been 42 instant redundancies with thousands of further roles now under threat.

Among the sites named as vulnerable is the Radley store at Cotswolds Designer Outlet, near Tewkesbury, which only opened last year as part of the new multi-million-pound shopping destination.

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The outlet, just off junction 9 of the M5 and serving towns and villages across the Cotswolds, had promoted Radley as one of its key fashion brands, alongside labels such as Boss, Levi’s and Guess.

Radley’s Cotswolds shop was designed as a “brand new store” offering an “elevated shopping experience”, according to the company’s own store information.

The Sun reports that a full timetable for the national store closure programme has not yet been confirmed.

This has left shoppers and employees waiting for further clarity on when individual locations, including the Cotswolds branch, will shut.