Nacha's Payments Innovation Alliance, a membership program bringing together diverse global stakeholders to transform the payments industry by cooperatively developing solutions, staying ahead of trends and unlocking the potential of the ACH network, has created tools to educate financial institutions about the prevalence of elder financial abuse and how to assist account holders who may have been targeted.

In the U.S. an estimated 3.5 million older adults are victims of financial exploitation each year, with financial losses totaling $3 billion. In recognition of the magnitude of the problem, throughout the month of June the Alliance is sharing materials developed by its Consumer Financial Exploitation Project Team, along with additional elder financial abuse prevention resources developed by trusted non-profit organizations and government agencies. These resources will be released weekly at nacha.org/consumer-financial-project-team.

New materials developed include an infographic providing key statistics on the prevalence of elder financial abuse. An Elder Financial Abuse Prevention Financial Institution checklist will be released next week.

Earlier this year, the Payments Innovation Alliance formed the Consumer Financial Exploitation Project Team, a group dedicated to creating educational resources and tools to enable the industry to fight financial fraud and collaborating with the financial crimes ecosystem, including law enforcement and consumer advocacy groups.

"The resources developed by the Alliance’s Consumer Financial Exploitation Project Team detail why the issue of fraud aimed at older populations should be of importance to financial institutions and contain links to reputable sources of information," said Jennifer West, AAP, APRP, Senior Director, Payments Innovation Alliance, Education and Accreditation, Nacha. "We hope that by highlighting these tools throughout the month, banks and credit unions can better assist account holders with fraud-prevention efforts and address the needs of victims by assisting with reporting and asset recovery."

The release of these resources coincides with World Elder Abuse Day, created by the United Nations in 2011 to provide an opportunity for communities around the world to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes affecting elder abuse and neglect.

To learn more about elder financial abuse prevention initiatives or to join the Payments Innovation Alliance visit nacha.org/consumer-financial-project-team.