Central Bank backs shared fraud database
Central Bank deputy governor Colm Kincaid has said that no single actor, institution, or corporation can stop economic crime and fraud alone.
Speaking at the Irish Criminal Justice Agencies Conference 2026, Kincaid said that reporting should be "as clear and accessible as possible" for victims.
He said that immediate action should focus on stopping further loss and recovering funds, where possible, while engagement with the consumer should be "empathetic" and recognise the distress and damage caused by deception.
The regulator also called for more clarity on who was liable when a consumer fell to fraud or scams.
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He welcomed upcoming EU payment-services legislation to strengthen protections for customers from fraud – including certain requirements for advertisers of financial services to prove they are authorised to do so.
Kincaid also welcomed a commitment in the National Payments Strategy to develop, and prepare legislation for, a shared fraud database.
"Properly designed, such a database could help firms and authorities connect signals that may appear inconclusive when viewed separately, but become significant when piecing together the fragmented parts of the jigsaw," he told the event.
Information-sharing
The deputy governor added that the European framework was moving in the same direction, with article 75 of the EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation allowing information-sharing partnerships among obliged entities and public authorities.
He said that the upcoming EU Payment Services Regulation would also require payment-service providers to participate in information-sharing arrangements with each other.
Calling for better international co-ordination, he stated: "Economic crime can be organised in one country, directed from another, target victims in a third, and move the proceeds through several more."